A Quest Of Fate
by EmeraldNorth
Summary: Prince Shouto escapes the clutches of his father, only to be caught up in the whirlwind of a quest for a legendary sword that shouldn't exist, an uprising of rogue dragons in the crumbling West and the mystery of a princess who should have died many years ago. Furthermore, the dark shadows passing through the continent could only be a bad omen. [3rd ED Fantasy!AU; TodoMomo]
1. Dawn Of Change

**AN: Welcome to my BNHA Fantasy!AU, heavily inspired by the anime's third ending! I don't know if this has been done yet, if so, I hope this won't be all too similar.**

 **This will mainly be a TodoMomo fic (because only 48 english fanfics on this site is kind of depressing), other pairings undecided as of now.**

* * *

 _ **I. Dawn Of Change**_

Silence. Tranquility.

Nothing but the soft sough of water as waves swept over onto the empty beach. There wasn't another person far and wide.

If he closed his eyes and drowned everything else out, he could almost feel the cold sand between his toes.

He could almost touch the moonlight.

If he concentrated hard enough, he could pretend he was anywhere but here.

Just a moment of nothingness, a moment of peace.

A moment of silence.

A moment broken by an unpleasant voice.

"Shouto!"

"Yes, father?" His spine straightened instinctively at the sound of his father's harsh words, a habit he was not too fond of.

His father looked upset, about what, Shouto didn't know, nor did he particularly care. He just wanted to leave already. The throne room was cold and uncomfortable, his feet itching to find safe ground.

King Enji narrowed his eyes. "Weren't you listening to me? I said that you are going to travel to the neighbouring kingdom with a proposition of an alliance."

Shouto put on a straight face. Maybe he should have listened at least a bit, he would admit that much. But just enough to get the gist of what this conversation was about.

The king clicked his tongue, barely hiding his disapproval. "The rumours about the circumstances in the Western Kingdom have become… concerning. Should they prove to be true, we will need as many allies as possible."

Shouto nodded slowly, piecing the information together in his mind. Rumours about the West? That was the thing about the dragons, right?

Regardless, he didn't have much of a choice. "As you wish, father." He answered diligently, only to allow himself to finally leave that godforsaken room, absentmindedly accepting a scroll from one of the guards on his way out. Once the door fell closed behind him, he let out a long breath.

"Shouto." A softer voice called his name, followed by a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

His fist clenched around the scroll in his hand tightly, somehow managing to keep his voice steady. "Don't worry about it, Fuyumi, I'll be fine."

She gave him a look that told him she had seen right through his lie but stopped herself from saying anything else. Instead, she bowed elegantly and left with her ladies-in-waiting.

Shouto watched her disappear down the gloomy hallway, only letting out a frustrated sigh once she was out of earshot.

He didn't want her to worry about him needlessly.

He glanced at the scroll in his hand, undoubtedly holding a marriage proposal between him and a daughter of the Eastern King in order to secure an alliance. It had always been a possibility, he knew that, but he still felt robbed of a sliver of freedom.

A servant approached him with a fully-packed travel bag, stating that his horse and entourage had already been prepared for departure.

He suppressed a defeated sigh.

Of course it had been.

* * *

A long time ago, somebody told him that royalty was privileged. That they had it all. Shouto wished that was true.

Being royalty was the embodiment of freedom for many, but for him it was like a prison. Even now, surrounded by a circle of knights, he felt like he was being escorted to his sentencing rather than to another kingdom.

Sir Monoma had never really gotten along with him, and Shouto wasn't too sure he knew the other knights' names. He wasn't too keen to go on this trip.

Just as expected, time crawled by agonizingly slow, the sun running it's cycle over them once, twice, thrice as the scenery gradually changed. He thought he'd be okay, but there was something distressing about being constantly surrounded. The odd feeling sat in his stomach, chipping away at his sense of freedom until finally found the word for it.

Anxiety. His anxiety grew stronger with each hour spent travelling, each minute, each second.

It was suffocating him.

He didn't ask for this. He didn't want any of this. Watching his mother cry endlessly. Watching his sister bite down on her tongue in hesitation. Stiffening whenever his father forced his ideas on him.

Looking in the mirror and seeing his father's cyan eye.

The scroll bearing his father's proposition and signature suddenly burned in his satchel.

He didn't want this. He didn't want to do this. He took a shaky breath. Was he really that powerless? No! Maybe… maybe it was just time to take matters into his own hands!

Cold sweat covered his hands, but he patiently waited for the right moment. Waited for his entourage to shift their attention elsewhere.

"Your Highness," one of the knights approached him, "it is time to take a short break."

He nodded stiffly, not daring to open up his mouth in fear of revealing his plan.

He gulped audibly, but the head knight took no notice of it. He nearly laughed at the irony of the situation.

After years of relentless tutoring and honing leadership skills, he was now putting his well-trained intellect to a completely unprecedented use.

What he would pay to see his father's reaction when word of this reached him.

He waited for all knights to get off their horses, and as Sir Monoma reluctantly reached out to offer him assistance in getting down, he slammed his heels into the horse, mentally apologizing to it.

It roared into a frenzy, dashing down the forest path in a blur of dust and white, leaving behind all the baffled knights.

It came down to that one moment, but it felt so right.

He let himself laugh loudly as the horse continued rampaging down the path, widening the gap between him and his entourage.

Going against his father's orders was exhilarating, and it felt as if a burden had been lifted from his soul.

It was only once they exited the forest that he calmed down the horse, letting it come to a standstill in front of one of the cliffs.

In the distance he could make out the faint outlines of his father's castle, and a pinch of guilt hit him for leaving his sister behind.

But he shook his head, rebuilding his faith in her. She was strong. She would pull through just fine.

* * *

Ochako lazily made her magic wand float in randomized circles, letting out a small sigh in the process.

The sound of bustling fire softly filled the night and their surroundings, trumped only by the continuous mutterings of her travel companions.

"Ah, but you see, we need to consider the possibility of bandits ambushing us here, or here, and we need to stop by a village sooner or later in order to restock food and water. But that brings us to the next point, we don't really have that much money left, so we'll probably have to take up some day jobs on the way…"

"Midoriya, you are so thorough with your planning and considerations, it's very commendable."

Deku let out a soft, embarrassed chuckle, interrupting his never-ending ramblings of paranoia.

Ochako glanced at the adventurer, thinking over the events of the past days once more. There wasn't really any substantial reason for joining the upbeat boy, it had rather just been… an instinctive decision.

He had quite literally fallen into her life, having failed to climb a nearby tree. The memory still made her laugh.

"Did you think of something nice, Uraraka?" Iida inquired.

She smiled, picking her wand out of mid-air. "Oh, just my first encounter with Deku."

"You're still going on about that?" The green-haired boy sighed. "It's embarrassing, please stop."

"Hmmm… nope." She stuck out her tongue cheekily, making Iida shake his head, but she could see the way his mouth curved upwards slightly.

"You two are terrible." Deku said, pointedly looking away.

"But that's just what friends do!" Ochako laughed, hovering her hands over the fire. It was warm and cosy, even if they were in the middle of the woods.

"Back to our previous topic," Iida cut in, "we should decide on a general route to take. If the legendary sword really exists, where would it be?"

"We could throw a dice." She suggested. "It's not as if anybody actually knows where it is."

"In that case, why don't we just cover all kingdoms?" Deku drew a circle over the map with his finger. "And I say we start with…" His finger stopped. "… the Western Kingdom."

"Hmmm, I dunno…" She tilted her head. "I've heard some nasty stuff about dragons there lately…"

"I agree with Uraraka." Iida added. "Even if the rumours are false, the Western Kingdom has seen better days…"

Deku looked slightly nervous, but it might have just been her imagination. "W-Wouldn't that be a reason to check it out? Things like legendary weapons are often guarded by fierce creatures."

"Well, you do have a point…" The paladin hummed. "Additionally, we could see what the situation in the West really is like…"

Ochako gnawed on her bottom lip. She wasn't too keen on going to the West, but… "If it's with you guys, I'm sure we'll be okay!"

"Alright!" Deku declared excitedly. "Tomorrow, we set course for the Western Kingdom!"

* * *

"Ehm, excuse me?"

The voice tore him out of his thoughts, making him turn his head towards its source. Three travellers, looking roughly his age, stood there.

He raised an eyebrow at them. "Yes?"

The one in the middle, a rather plain-looking boy with wide eyes, took a step forward. "Can you direct us to the nearest town? We're kind of lost."

The boy awkwardly chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, his two companions completing the picture with their matching looks of dismay.

He frowned, ready to answer the question with the natural ease of a knowledgeable prince, namely that they currently were…

He blinked, finally realizing that the distant castle was his only indicator of where they were, and that he didn't know for sure either. Still…

"Let me lead you there, I just happened to be on my way there as well." He offered, counting on eventually reaching a nearby village no matter what direction they headed in.

A little white lie wouldn't hurt, and he had to keep moving in order to avoid the search parties his father inevitably was going to send after him. As long as they reached a town sooner than later, he'd have re-oriented himself and completed a helpful task at the same time.

"Ah, thank you, sir!" The boy in the middle answered with a broad grin, his two companions sighing in relief.

"It really is embarrassing that we managed to lose sight of the trail." The tallest in the group, a paladin, lamented. "We're sorry for troubling you, sir."

"It's okay." Shouto answered. "You're not inconveniencing me in any way."

"Thanks again!" The third member added, a cheerful girl with a large staff. A mage? Probably.

"Oh, I nearly forgot." The green-haired one suddenly spoke up. "My name is Izuku Midoriya. These two are Ochako Uraraka and Tenya Iida."

The two others gave a small bow. He nodded in response.

They seemed like honest people, but right now he would have to sacrifice some of his honour in favour of leaving his past behind. He'd wipe his slate clean. He'd start anew, as just…

"Shouto." He introduced himself simply.

"Ah, a good name for a good man." The paladin, Iida, commented earnestly.

"It's nice to meet you, Shouto." The mage complied, her brown locks swinging in sync with her energetic movements.

"So, what brings you three to these forests?" He inquired, making idle small-talk as they continued their journey.

"We were searching for something. Apparently there are these really special herbs around here, and you get quite a hefty reward for bringing them back to village." Midoriya began explaining.

"Since we kind of need more money, we hoped it'd be a sure-fire way of making a quick buck." The mage, Uraraka, continued with a dismayed sigh.

"Unfortunately, despite our valiant efforts, we have neither found the plants nor any village nearby." Iida finished in dejection.

Shouto glanced at them out of the corner of his eye. He knew which herbs they were talking about, but he highly doubted they'd find any in this area. As far as he knew, they only grew on the other side of the valley.

He frowned. "What do you guys need money for so quickly?"

Midoriya gave him a confident smirk as an answer. "We are going on an adventure, a legendary quest!" He pumped up his fist into the air, eliciting equally excited exclaims from his two companions.

"An adventure?" Shouto asked, confusion evident in his voice.

Midoriya nodded eagerly. "We are searching for the ultimate treasure, the sacred sword, One For All!"

And then everything fell into place. Shouto nearly felt sorry for them, actually.

They wanted to play hero.

Everybody knew about the legend of the One For All, and the riches it allegedly came with. More importantly, he knew how much his father despised that particular legend, as it depicted a fictional sword even more powerful than his Endeavour Of Hell.

But nobody had ever succeeded in finding it. Of course, there had been rumours, but no one had definite proof.

It would probably just be a waste of time, to be honest.

"I see. In that case, I wish you the best of luck." Despite initially wanting to discourage them from their quest, he chose to forgo his negativity and try encouraging them instead.

The bright smiles he got in return were more than enough.

And what is a good man such as yourself doing here in these woods, Shouto?" The paladin asked, unknowingly bringing up a topic Shouto had attempted to avoid.

Well, perhaps it was unavoidable.

"I…" he hesitated, trying to find a suitable reason from the top of his head. "I have left my home town in search of the purpose of life." He ended up reasoning.

This seemed to appease Iida, so he guessed it was kind of a victory.

The rest of the day was rather quiet, the occasional small talk coming from Uraraka or Midoriya, but all in all uneventful.

* * *

They decided to settle down for the night, tired from their journey.

"Hmmm, somehow I cannot get this to work." Iida grumbled as he watched the spark caused by his flint and stone die down again.

Midoriya and Uraraka had left to gather some edible herbs, fruits and perhaps a small animal or two while Shouto and Iida were to prepare the fire.

Shouto watched as the Paladin moved around at astounding speed, gathering only the driest of dry wood, not minding to get his hands dirty and inspecting every single branch with a victorious smirk.

He took note of his obvious wind magic, so watching the teenager struggling with flint and stone was honestly just too painful to watch.

"Here, let me do it." He interjected. Then he put his palm on the dry wood, only removing once the flames had begun to grow decently.

"Ahh, how fortunate to have a fire user!" Iida said appreciatively. "That must be pretty handy."

Shouto looked at his left hand. "Yeah, …right."

Iida left once more in search of more fire wood to keep the fire going through the night, leaving Shouto alone with his thoughts, staring into the vibrant, dancing reds and oranges and yellows he had come to hate so much over time.

He reached into his satchel, taking out the paper scroll his father had given him, gave it one last look and tossed it into the flames, watching the edges grow black and the fragile paper finally crumble into grey ashes.

Then he let out a sigh which seemingly removed half the weight on his shoulders.

* * *

It wasn't long before Uraraka and Midoriya returned to the small clearing with triumphant smiles, holding up some rabbits and fruits.

It would definitely be enough to last until they reached the village the next day.

At least, Shouto thought to have recognized one of the stone formations they passed on their way. The good news was, he had a semblance of an idea where they currently were, the bad news was that they were still too close to the capitol for his liking.

And as they all bid each other good night, his conscious decided to resurface.

Was this… really okay?

* * *

To his relief, his memory had not failed him. True enough, roughly an hour away from their camp site, there was a small village.

The looks of relief and happiness on Uraraka's, Midoriya's and Iida's faces were pretty comical, but he managed to suppress his laughter.

After all, according to what they had told him the day before, they had been aimlessly wandering around the forest for an entire week prior to meeting him.

He definitely felt sorry for them.

They checked into an inn so that they could put down their travel bags, paying with a large amount of the little money they had left.

Shouto sighed, realizing that he didn't have too much on hand either. His idea of leaving the knights behind had been so spontaneous that he couldn't have known to prepare for it.

Consequently, he found himself standing in line with the other three as they waited for their turns at the day-job-centre.

Not the proudest moment of his life, he will admit, but luckily this village was small enough that nobody connected his peculiar appearance to that of their 'humble' king.

They probably didn't even know what the king looked like.

He also only remembered the village from passing by a long time ago, the image of wide, full fields and single church tower on the horizon etched into his mind.

It was a trip he had taken with his mother.

He shook the thoughts that were resurfacing away, and they were gone in an instant.

Once it was finally his turn, he was hardly surprised at the slip of paper detailing some labour work he was presented with.

He was no stranger to hard, relentless work under extreme conditions.

One of his earliest memories was his father shouting at him, telling him he was weak and demanding the impossible from him.

Then he was working from daybreak until deep into the nights on fields, construction sites and storage houses.

His father had earned his power and title through hard work, so his son sure as hell had to put in an equal amount of effort, if not more.

So helping an old farmer's wife carry heavy crates from one barn to another actually felt kind of fulfilling.

It was a nice feeling, he decided. It was a nice feeling, being able to make other people smile.

* * *

When he met up with the others that evening, he found that he was the only one who seemed to get that feeling of fulfilment.

Even though he had initially planned to leave the village as soon as he had found his orientation again, curiosity led him to stick around the three travellers with the somewhat far-fetched goal.

Said three travellers, who had been grinning at him brightly the day before, were now slumped over the wooden table in exhaustion.

"Ughhh… I can't feel my arms…" Midoriya's muffled voice complained.

"Ngh, and my back aches so much… I'd cast a spell, but moving hurts too much." Uraraka sighed in disdain.

Iida didn't voice any deficits, he merely let out a pained groan that spoke for more than enough.

Shouto sighed at their obvious lack in stamina, signalling to one of the waitresses that he'd like to place his order.

A few seconds later a young woman came by, asking what they'd want.

Shouto absentmindedly took note of her slight lisp, as well as her very large, amphibian eyes.

"I'll take this… and one of these." He pointed to the menu, the waitress nodding in compliance before gesturing to the other occupants.

"And them?"

Shouto grimaced at their collective groans. "They'll… they'll just have the same."

She nodded again, jutting down the details on her notepad and heading back towards the kitchens.

It took a few minutes, but Uraraka eventually managed to lift her head in order to look at him. "Are you not exhausted, Shouto?"

"No, I am not." He answered earnestly, pushing the pots of tea he had ordered in front of each member in practiced motions.

Iida also lifted his head at the scent of fresh tea, speaking up for the first time since entering the inn. "As expected of Shouto, not only has he mastered his work without setback, but he has also continued to support us."

Shouto wearily smiled in response to that. He wasn't sure when, but somehow along the way, Iida had painted a grand picture of him and would only see him as such.

"Here's your food." The waitress had returned in the meanwhile, skilfully balancing multiple plates on her hands and setting them down on the table.

The trio's eyes sparkled at the sight of the simple, yet amazing dish their newest companion had ordered for them.

"CURRY!" They shouted in unison, aching muscles and back pains forgotten as they devoured their food with the mannerisms equal to those of a dog.

"I must say, Shouto, you never cease to amaze me," Iida spoke up, "thank you."

Uraraka nodded heftily in agreement, a wide, happy grin on her face.

"I will take note of this for future reference." Midoriya added determinately.

"Eh… you're welcome?" Shouto offered, slightly confused. Was this how all commoners outside the capitol behaved?

* * *

They finished their last drops of tea and decided to call it a night, at least they planned to, but there was one small thing separating them from the comfort of the inn's beds.

Said thing being a bandit who had stormed into the inn, grabbed a waitress and waved around a gun.

"Give me all the money and valuables you have! Now! Or the girl gets it!" He tightened his grip around the waitress' neck and put his ginormous hand over her face, pushing the barrel of the gun against her temple.

"You better start moving!" He repeated demandingly.

Shouto grimaced as all the other customers began taking things out of their pockets and another waitress began opening the cashiers with tears flowing down her cheek.

His eyes flitted over the room, taking in the distance between themselves and the bandit, but it was too long and the bandit had the advantage as long as he held that gun.

His right hand twitched in anticipation, and while freezing half the inn would be an option, he really didn't want to have to rely on his magic too much.

Especially his left hand.

Not to mention that he didn't have the kind of money to pay for repairs.

He continued examining the situation, and his eyes briefly met Midoriya's.

The innocent-looking teen had a fiery determination dancing in his eyes.

Shouto looked at the other two, who held similar expressions on their face.

Were they…? Seriously…?

Midoriya made distinctive eye contact with him, telling him he had a plan.

He nodded discreetly and glanced back at the bandit, who had turned to start collecting the goods, his other hand still around the waitress in an iron grip.

With his attention somewhere else, Midoriya signalled them to charge.

Iida surged forward with astounding speed, catching both Shouto and the bandit off-guard. Midoriya was right behind him, moving much faster than he'd ever expect of a boy with his build.

And the soft murmurs of chanting that filled the silence behind him told him that Uraraka was about to cast something.

He cursed under his breath, realizing that he knew nothing about their skill sets.

What was Uraraka going to do? Support or offense? He didn't have time to think about it too much, as Iida had already crossed the room, one fist deeply set into the bandit's stomach. Midoriya came right afterwards, delivering a kick to his arm, hoping to knock the gun out of his hand.

The bandit, hunched over from the sudden attack, still managed to react in time and dodged the kick, releasing the waitress' face in order to take the gun into that hand. With his free hand, he roughly pried Iida away and tossed him across the room.

A triumphant smirk crossed the bandit's face, but it fell as soon as it came.

The air in the room had suddenly grown extremely cold. Why? Did somebody use magic? It took him a few seconds, but then he finally realized it. He was the one who used magic, ice coating the wooden floor now. What was he doing? Why had he done that?

The bandit was frozen in place, confusion written all over his face.

"Wh-" He never got to finish his sentence as his gun suddenly disappeared from his hand, along with his hostage.

"Take this!" Uraraka shouted, spinning her wand one last time and directing her attack at their opponent, successfully taking him out for good.

Everybody in the inn was still frazzled and shocked by the sudden turn of events, so much that Shouto didn't even notice that his own heartbeat was through the roof.

The first sound that broke the silence was a soft squish.

He glanced at the source, somehow not surprised that it was the waitress, elongated tongue still wrapped around the bandit's gun.

He'd almost forgotten that she was of the frog tribe. Regardless, he was impressed. Not everybody would have been ready to use that small window of opportunity, but she had done so with no hesitation and repercussion.

"Shouto, that skill is so awesome!" Uraraka exclaimed from behind him, walking up to his side and admiring the sheet of ice that covered the majority of the floor between them and the knocked-out bandit.

"I should have seen that coming." Iida criticized himself with a shake of his head. "Good thing Shouto was there to help us out."

"Yeah, that was really cool." Midoriya joined in, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. "I can't believe I completely missed that kick though."

"Ah, don't worry, it happens to all of us from time to time." Uraraka encouragingly told them. "Next time, just make sure you really sink that sucker! Hah!" She jumped into a fighting pose of her own.

Honestly, this trio never stopped surprising him.

Her two companions merely laughed at her antics, effectively cheering up again, but he couldn't help but wonder exactly how much combat potential this group held.

He gulped. Maybe… maybe the quest for the One For All wasn't as laughable as he initially thought.

They weren't playing heroes... they were being heroes.

* * *

"Excuse me?" A female voice asked him.

He turned around, now facing the frog waitress from earlier. "Yes?"

"Do you think you can remove all the ice somehow? I don't know whether the wood can handle that much water…" She gestured towards the trail of ice.

"Ah, yes, I will take care of it right away." He answered quickly. He needed to calm his nerves and get his thoughts straight.

Kneeling down, he placed his left hand on the ice, concentrating the heat into until it all evaporated, raising the room temperature slightly.

Why did he use his magic? He hated it, so why? Why did step in? Why did he reveal his magic affinity? Why had he done it subconsciously?

He could only hope it didn't raise too many questions.

* * *

 **AN: Please leave a review, they always make my day :))**

 **[20.10.18: Rewrote the first few chapters. No major changes to plot elements, just some sentence and dialogue changes, as well as cutting out unnecesary parts.]**

 **~Emi**


	2. Bonds Forged In Fire

_**II. Bonds Forged In Fire**_

Shouto jerked up when a hand suddenly fell onto his back heavily in what he presumed was meant to be a friendly pat.

Iida was standing behind him after he had finished melting the ice. "My, those are really convenient skills! As expected of Shouto, of course, you must've put a lot of effort into studying the ways of a mage."

Iida nodded approvingly and gestured towards Uraraka and Midoriya, who were talking to the inn's owners and other visitors.

"Perhaps you and Uraraka could share information! If only you had told us you were a mage earlier!" The paladin laughed whole-heartedly, honesty brimming out in overdose.

Shouto suppressed a gulp. That was the problem, he wasn't a mage. None of this would actually be a problem had he been a studious mage.

"Sorry about that." He apologized with an even voice, unable to tell Iida the truth just yet.

That he hadn't gotten these powers through the hard work mages put into their studies, that he had just happened to have the right parents.

Pushing his insecurities out of his mind, he and Iida went to join the other two, who were currently wrapped up in a conversation with the frog waitress.

"Iida, Shouto! You'll never believe what kind of reward we'll be getting for capturing the bandit!" Uraraka's eyes glinted, no, glowed in the dining hall's dim lights. "The amounts of zeroes is beautiful!" She gushed happily, a slight skip to her step as she cheered on.

"I still can't believe he was such a huge deal." Midoriya mumbled to himself. "If I'd known…"

"Would you not have acted then? If you'd known?" Shouto inquired, giving the green-haired boy a curious look.

It had been a long time since he'd seen one person express so much determination on his own.

"I…" The boy hesitated, paused to think, then continued. "I would have probably done the same thing."

"That's very courageous." Shouto commented. It was. It really was.

"Hehe, you think so? In the end, you did a lot more than I did, Shouto." He laughed it off with a wave of his wand.

 _It wasn't intentional._ Shouto wanted to say, but held back. He played it off by shrugging. "I just did what I thought I had to."

"At least it worked out for you." Midoriya sighed. "I completely missed, and in front of all these people as well…"

"It's the thought that counts…?" Shouto offered, not sure if it was actually helpful or not.

Midoriya chuckled slightly, so he guessed it was passable.

Maybe his father should have invested more time in teaching him social skills instead of how to throw fireballs.

"That doesn't matter!" Uraraka interrupted giddily, slinging her arms over their shoulders in an overly friendly manner. "Because we're getting the reward money!" She added in a sing-song voice.

"Uraraka!" Iida chided her. "I've told you before, you don't brag about your possessions!"

"But Iiiiiiidaaa, we finally have money! No more pulling out weeds, feeding cows, lugging stone, at least not for a while!" She whined. "And maybe we could afford a bath! I really want to have a bath!"

The paladin continued giving her a stern face before he ultimately gave in. "A bath… a proper bath… does sound awfully good." He complied in defeat.

Shouto began to worry about what his future held in stock. Was a bath really something that special out here?

Before he could continue his train of thoughts, he spotted the frog waitress out of the corner of his eye.

"Ah, excuse me?" He called out after her. She turned around, a questioning look on her face.

"I just wanted to say that what you did was quite impressive." He told her, thinking back to how she had grasped the bandit's gun and fled his hold in one seamless motion.

"Thank you. You learn a trick or five when you're in this business. Besides, I probably couldn't have done it without you and your friends' aid." The girl nodded over to where the other three were conversing while waiting for him.

It hit him then. _They were waiting for him._

"Well, then it's a good thing we were all here. Good night." He finished their conversation.

"Good night as well." The waitress replied and went back to work.

He headed back over to where Uraraka, Iida and Midoriya were. The green-haired adventurer was the first to notice his approach.

"You done speaking to Tsuyu? We were about to call it a day."

Shouto nodded, assuming that 'Tsuyu' referred to the waitress. "Sounds like a plan."

They all bid each other good night before entering their respectful rooms, courtesy of the owner.

Shouto closed the door behind him and let out the sigh he had been holding in since the incident. Both of his hands trembled, which was not surprising considering his refusal to use magic.

He had done it to spite his father, but maybe having more control over it wouldn't hurt either. And now they thought he was a mage, as well.

They may not have pried, but creating a fake backstory would have come in sooner or later anyway.

Maybe… if he left earlier than them tomorrow morning, he could leave the village without having to face them. He needed to leave before word of his ice ability reached capitol ears.

He shook his head, no that's not how things worked. Letting out another sigh, he remembered the cheerful "See you tomorrow morning!" Uraraka had sent him off with.

What to do, what to do…?

* * *

"My, what an interesting bunch." The old inn owner laughed as he put another glass away. His wife nodded in agreement while scraping off some leftovers off one of the plates.

"Yes, it was quite a blessing. Who knows what would've happened if they hadn't been there. You know the king wouldn't have been able to do anything about our small village." The old lady smiled. "And they were such kind and earnest people as well."

Tsuyu Asui only half-way agreed. She had had brief opportunities to speak with all of them, and they were definitely good-hearted people.

As for earnest… She thought back to the one with the white-red hair. Something about him had been… off.

"They told me they were travelling in search of something. It seems they're heading west." Tsuyu relayed Midoriya's words to her employers.

"Oooh, travellers, no wonder that girl was so excited about the money and a bath. Goodness knows when the last time she had one was!" The old lady chuckled at their youthful displays. "So what are they searching for?"

"The legendary sword." Tsuyu continued, a small frown forming on her face.

The old inn owner grimaced. "Heading west to look for the legendary sword, you say? I wonder… I wonder if it has anything to do with those rumours…"

His wife grimaced. "Oh you old fool." She chuckled half-heartedly. "You know that those are only rumours, right?"

And yet, Tsuyu noted, the old lady didn't seem to believe her own words.

"Tsuyu, dear?" The old man addressed her. She stowed the stack of plates away before answering.

"Yes?"

"You… You wanted to travel before, right?" He asked her, slight hesitance to his voice.

Tsuyu paused, remembering the times when she was younger, back when every kid wanted to travel. They lived in a very small village, it couldn't be helped that the allure of the outside world always sat right in front of you, especially whenever foreign merchants passed by, bringing stories from faraway lands.

"I guess." She replied quietly. Of course, that dream had never died.

"How about you join them then?" He asked her, much to her surprise.

She nearly dropped her glass, realizing that the old man had overheard the part of her conversation with the green-haired boy when he had offered her to join them when she expressed interest in their journey.

"B-But I can't just leave you here, what about the inn? And the others? I couldn't do anything so selfish!" She spluttered.

The old man laughed, but it held a serious edge to it. "Listen up Tsuyu," He continued in a serious voice. "That thing about the kingdom of the West… it's bothering me. I heard their princess disappeared as well. If you should head there… I'd at least know how bad things really are. If push comes to shove…" He sighed, glancing around the room. "If push comes to shove, we'll pack up and leave. King Enji is already making his move, and I heard from one of the palace guards that he's trying for an alliance with the East."

Tsuyu nodded at the memory of the drunk palace guard who had come by a few days ago, complaining about the situation in the capitol.

But.. she was torn. She had abandoned most of her hopes of leaving this village, and now she was practically being sent away?

"A-Are you sure about this?" She asked tentatively. It was an offer that was hard to turn down.

He gave her a smile and affectionately patted her on the head. "You've always been such a good girl, always working so diligently. I think you deserve this."

She looked down at the floor tiles she had scrubbed so often, at the tables she had cleaned, sat at with her co-workers and spilled countless drinks on during her initial training, the windows she had replaced countless times after brawls.

"T-Thank you." She looked back at the old man, her smile threatening to break her cheeks as a single tear fell down her face. "Thank you so much."

He chuckled and pulled her into a well-earned hug. Soon a second pair of arms enclosed her as the old lady also joined them.

She could never be grateful enough.

* * *

The next morning was filled with bright sunshine, matching Izuku's mood. His bag was packed in mere minutes and he was out of the door, ready to meet up with the others.

Meeting them all had been pure, but blessed coincidences, and while they usually involved him getting lost, he was really grateful for each and every one of them.

And hopefully, Tsuyu would have thought about the offer he had extended to her yesterday.

He could do this. Clenching his fist determinedly, he took a deep breath. Together, with everyone, he would retrieve the One For All.

* * *

Honestly, Shouto had no idea what was going on, but he did feel a bit bad that he was the only one with a horse.

As for why Tsuyu, the frog waitress was suddenly tagging along, he had no clue.

Apparently Midoriya had asked her to tag along and she… just did. Pretty much like himself, actually.

In line with his initial assessment of her, Tsuyu proved to be worthwhile company. She knew quite a lot, explaining that she picked it up from all the scholars and merchants that passed through the village. An old monk had even taught her how to read and write.

She got along especially well with Uraraka, the two chatting away animatedly during their journey.

* * *

Shouto suddenly stopped running, glancing at the market place in disdain and disbelief. Did they have some sort of sign plastered on their foreheads telling bandits and thieves to just come at them?

They had only checked into the inn here, and they were already caught up in the next spectacle.

A merchant had screamed, frantically pointing towards two cloaked figures and spluttering something about a theft.

Uraraka, after seeing the reward money for the last bandit, had gone completely gung-ho at the opportunity to catch another one and had unleashed very large restriction spell across half the village, suspending countless rocks and stones in the air above.

Iida and Midoriya had immediately started panicking and evacuating the streets, disguising their worry by saying that it was "all according to plan."

He cursed under his breath.

Tsuyu had been right behind one of the robbers, but the bastard had splashed some kind of fluids all over the ground, and once Tsuyu had attempted to manoeuvre around it by using the walls, the bandit's cape already disappeared in the maze of alleys.

To add on top of that, they had lost the second one as well. No, wait, there he was!

He whipped around, only to watch the bandit kneel down and place his hands on the ground. And then the most deafening sound he had ever heard before filled his eardrums. His head screamed in opposition to the painful noise, rendering him unable to think nor move.

Dammit! Sound magic was almost as rare as his ice magic nowadays.

Then, it all stopped nearly as quickly as it began, his ears still ringing in aftershock.

Uraraka landed behind him in a neat crouch, an unusually focused look in her eye. Turning back to the thief, he figured that Uraraka probably dropped one of the rocks on the bandit.

"Money… Zeroooes…" She whispered to herself ominously, something he chose not to comment on.

A small part of his brain nagged that she probably only let that stone drop by accident and she was secretly just the goddess of coincidence, but he pushed that voice aside before she accidentally dropped anything on him.

Tsuyu also landed next to him, followed by a louder thud. Her long tongue was wrapped around a struggling form wrapped in a cape.

Uraraka had a wide smile on her face, and Shouto had a good idea as to why. Maybe they weren't such honest people themselves…

* * *

Did Midoriya have some sort of magic he didn't see?

No, the green-haired boy had told him he was born without magic, and Shouto couldn't sense anything from him either.

So, was it hypnotic skills?

"I brought you some water!" The newest addition to their group, a pink-skinned Halfling, offered him a canister eagerly. Her black eyes were shining so bright they almost looked white.

"Erm… thank you, Ashido." He took the canister, unsure of how the girl could derive so much joy from bringing him some water.

Speaking of said girl, her partner-in-crime Jirou was currently standing over a large pot listening to Iida saying something about the valiant art of cooking, occasionally nodding and adding something of her own.

One moment they had been standing in the police office, Uraraka happily prying the reward money out of the officer's hands, the next Midoriya had asked the two thieves whether they wanted to join him on his quest for the legendary sword.

They had glanced at each other and now he was pretty sure their entire group had been marked as fugitives after they went to break the two thieves they had just caught out of prison.

But all-in-all, this was still better than doing what his father told him to do. In fact, him getting splattered across wanted posters was the last thing his father wanted.

The sense of rebellion caused a spark of fire within his soul, and it wasn't the kind he hated. No, this one was fierce and encouraging.

"Hey, Shouto, I need your opinion on something." Midoriya came up next to him and spread the map out on the ground. "What path do think we should take? The Western borders aren't that far off anymore, but we'll still need a few days."

Shouto put a hand to his chin. "I think we should pass through here, restock our supplies here and then take a direct route over the border." He muttered, trailing his finger across the paper.

"Thanks, I thought so too, but a second opinion never hurts." Midoriya smiled and rolled the map up again.

* * *

The next time they stopped over in a village, they all made sure to wear disguises. And he still felt awkward as the only one with a horse. Should they rotate with the horse?

He wasn't sure.

It also felt wrong to ask the others. Should he ask the horse? Was this the kind of communication that led to the creation of the Halflings?

And, most importantly, what the hell was wrong with him?! What on earth was he thinking about?!

The woman at the inn gave the group of seven a suspicious look before handing out multiple room keys.

"I hope you enjoy your stay." She said formally before gesturing up the staircase.

Their disguises probably make them look ten times more suspicious.

* * *

The alleyway was perfect. There was just enough sunlight flooding in to make it seem inconspicuous, but there was also just enough shadow for him to blend into.

His tail swished behind him patiently as a group of oddly dressed strangers passed by the alleyway.

There was a slight disturbance in his surroundings, telling him that his partner was finally here as well.

"So, Ojiro, what are the details?" His partner asked in a bored tone.

"Not so loud, Hagakure." He chided her before pulling out a scroll out of his jacket. "Apparently the Princess of the West is going to pass through here tomorrow. We need to… prepare."

"The princess?" His partner echoed. "Didn't she go missing?"

"Yeah, somebody claiming to have her is trying to sell her off over here since relations between West and South aren't the greatest." He explained, scrutinizing the contract scroll.

"So who's our target?" Hagakure asked. "The 'princess' or the seller?"

"Both."

* * *

 **AN: Won't you tell me what you thought about this one?**

 **~Emi**


	3. Shadows Of Justice

_**III. Shadows Of Justice**_

"This makes things… complicated." Hagakure grumbled at the crowd that was slowly gathering on the streets.

"You know how things are," Ojiro answered, a hint of discontent to his voice. "All it takes is one rumour and enough people who are willing to believe it. And right now everything concerning the West is a very hot topic."

"Mhh, it doesn't mean I have to like it. We'll need to follow them until they're out of the village if this continues." The girl sighed.

"If they even show up, of course." Ojiro added. "This is still a baseless rumour."

"Yeah, but what did you expect from that hefty reward sum? It was obvious that this wouldn't be your run-of-the-mill job."

"I guess we'll just have to wait it out."

* * *

 _12 hours later…_

Shouto took in the silence, inhaling, exhaling, inhaling, exhaling.

Finally, he opened his eyes, looking through the iron bars confining him in the dingy cellar of the town's law enforcement.

The mediocre-looking, blonde half-beast in the cell opposite of his was sitting on the ground, legs crossed and his large tail wrapped around himself.

"Solitude is the best place to self-reflect." He whispered his father's words to himself, closing his eyes again instead of straining them in the darkness.

And self-reflecting was something he was in dire need of.

What got this whole thing started? Why were they caught up in this mess all of a sudden?

He gnawed on his lower lip in thought. It probably started with their last stopover in a village, where they had offered Ashido and Jirou to join them on their journey.

Correction: Midoriya had offered, and then their group of five had broken the two thieves out of their holding cells in the middle of the night, earning them a big, fat reward on their heads.

They had known it wouldn't be long before the first bounty hunters showed up.

Maybe Midoriya was the problem, with his way-too-trusting nature?

Shouto shook his head. That wasn't it.

He let out an involuntary sigh, glancing one more time at the half-beast in the other cell who seemingly hadn't moved a muscle since the last time Shouto had looked over.

And then things got messy. Saying it escalated quickly was an understatement. To top it off, their whole group was being detained for an entirely separate crime, without anybody realizing that there was a huge bounty on their heads a few villages further.

Even more astoundingly, nobody had recognized him as the prince yet, even though he was still wearing his original traveling outfit. For the first time in his life, Shouto found himself thanking his father for putting more funds into the military than into lavish clothes.

It still, however, didn't change the fact that he was stuck in this cell.

A headache washed over him like an unpleasant wave, eliciting a groan from him as he rubbed his temple.

Because he knew where the real root of all problems lied. Within himself.

It was his own fault for following his selfish desires, escaping from the knights and joining the trio on their quest. He should've been prepared to face the consequences.

Given, of course, that the consequences were within reason. Being accused of murder was not within reason.

* * *

 _6 hours earlier…_

"Hey, odd fellows! You there!" Tsuyu was the first to take notice of the man, shifting her attention to him out of curiosity.

The man, old and obviously intoxicated, waved her over. She glanced back towards the rest of the group who were currently haggling with a fish vendor. More specifically, it was Uraraka doing an expert job of negotiating with the woman while the rest just stood around her and waited for the fish.

She was sure Ashido had yawned at least three times already since reaching the stand.

It wouldn't hurt to indulge the man for a few seconds, she thought, and split off from the group.

"Yes?" She asked, a hint of professionalism in her voice. A 'what would you like to order?' also nearly slipped out, but she caught herself in time.

"Watcha doing around 'ere? Haven't seen the likes of you before." He nodded over to the rest of the group, enunciating his point.

"Ah, we're just passing through because we needed supplies." She answered truthfully.

The man nodded. "Ah, I see. Just a heads up though, don't stay on the streets too long. The others wouldn't like that."

Tsuyu frowned at the new information. "Why not?"

"We're getting some really important guests later on. Royalty, y'know? They're doing their best to make the town look all pretty and so." He grinned lop-sidedly, but his addition only made Tsuyu's frown deeper.

"The King? Since when does he visit the villages?" Knowledge regarding the king in the villages was limited to vague reports and drunk ramblings, but one thing was for sure: He avoided leaving the capitol as much as possible.

The old man back home used to tell her that he made a fearsome figure, huge, broad, with fiery red hair and blue eyes so cold and ruthless they could freeze over the nation, but that same old man hardly remembered what he had for breakfast the day before, so she didn't know exactly how trustworthy his word was.

The drunkard let out a splutter of ridiculing laughter. "Of course not our king, that bastard's too busy in the capitol, doing god knows what." The laughter morphed into a wheeze, then into a cough.

Tsuyu gently patted him on his back until he calmed down enough. "Is it the prince or the princess then?"

The man shook his head. "It's a princess, alright, but not ours. Rumour has it the Princess of the West will be passing through here today."

Tsuyu stilled, her old employer's words echoing in her mind. _"That thing about the kingdom of the West… it's bothering me. I heard their princess disappeared as well."_

"Didn't she disappear?" Tsuyu pondered, wondering whether the rumours had just mixed together so much that something entirely different reached the old inn owner. You never knew.

"That was the original rumour, but whaddya know? She was just taking a trip!" The man laughed heartily, but Tsuyu's gut twisted uncomfortably.

Her amphibian instinct was screaming at her that something was amiss, but she didn't know what.

She only knew that it made her feel really, really uncomfortable.

* * *

Uraraka grinned to herself proudly while dropping the silver coins into the vendor's outstretched hand.

She had gotten themselves some big fishes for a rather small price. It may have taken up some time, but they'd see that it was absolutely worth it once they ate it.

The others had begun to converse amongst each other while waiting for her, it seemed, and they all displayed similar looks of relief when she was finally done.

She let out a bashful chuckle before they continued their shopping.

"Where's Tsuyu?" Ashido suddenly asked, her pink hair flipping around her as she frantically looked in all directions.

"She was right here a second ago." Midoriya added with a frown.

Just as they were about to break into full-out panic, Tsuyu reappeared.

"Sorry, I was just talking to one of the villagers." She apologized, but she seemed absent-minded.

"Oh, did you learn anything interesting?" Jirou inquired while balancing two water canisters.

"You could say so." Tsuyu replied, albeit only tentatively. She glanced around quickly before continuing. "It's not something I want to discuss here. Let's talk about it back at the inn."

She was met with looks of confusion and curiosity, but they all agreed on bringing their new acquirements back to the inn before doing anything else.

* * *

Shouto was no master of social interaction or reading any sorts of moods besides anger, but even he could tell how uncomfortable Tsuyu had to be feeling.

She was usually upbeat and earnest, but there had been a large frown on her forehead ever since she talked to that villager.

"They think we ruin their reputation." Was the first thing she said when they were safely squashed into one of the inn's rooms. "So they don't want us on the streets later."

Jirou sighed. "Can you blame them? It's not as if these disguises practically scream that we're hiding something." The hint of sarcasm in her voice didn't go unnoticed.

"Jirou, I must ask you to reconsider your words." Iida made wild hand gestures. "We have not been approached or arrested for, dare I say it, _your_ crimes."

Jirou scowled and stemmed her hand on her hip. "We already told you, you had no obligation to help us. Not to be ungrateful, but this has led to more problems than it has solved."

"Jirou's right." Ashido added. "While we are very grateful for you helping us, there were probably better ways to deal with the situation."

Iida's eyes twitched with annoyance. "And you only think about mentioning this _now_?"

"Guys, stop!" Midoriya interrupted forcefully, making the entire room go silent. Midoriya only seldomly raised his voice, so it came as a shock to the two newest additions to their group.

He cleared his throat at the awkward silence before gesturing towards Tsuyu. "I think she still has more to say."

Tsuyu nodded her head. "It wouldn't be an issue on any other day, but it seems today is special."

Shouto frowned. "Special how?" His mind ran through all the nation's holidays and celebratory days, but his mind couldn't match a single one with their current date.

"It seems they are getting important visitors today, so they want the village to be presentable, especially around the main streets." Tsuyu went on.

"Important visitors? That they'd want to present the village to?" Ashido cocked her head to the side. "That sounds fishy."

"I agree. The only visits these villages usually get from higher-ups are from the tax collectors, and I don't think they welcome them with open arms." Jirou complied.

Tsuyu shook her head. "Even higher up the command chain."

"A state magician perhaps?" Uraraka asked. "I heard that there was one travelling around lately. It'd make more sense than a tax collector."

"No, even higher."

"What, somebody from the royal court?" Jirou threw in jokingly, but choked at the serious nod of affirmation Tsuyu gave her.

The word 'royal' was enough to make Shouto freeze up. Could it be that his father's men had really tracked him down? Already?

"No way, seriously?" Ashido's voice was filled with awe and uncertainty, and Shouto couldn't blame her for either.

His father only gave the villages the attention they absolutely needed, nothing more, nothing less. There was nothing they could really complain about, but there would always be those who wished for more.

So why else would somebody be coming here?

"I thought none of the royal family leave the capitol." Iida remarked, eyebrows furrowed deep in thought.

"I think that's the worst part of it." Tsuyu continued. "It's not _our_ royal family."

"What?"

Tsuyu folded her hands in her lap and nervously fidgeted with her fingers. "They're preparing the village for the arrival of the Princess of the West."

Shouto's thoughts immediately came to a halt, repeating her words in his mind over and over again, until he came to a sure conclusion.

"That's not possible." He hadn't meant to say it out loud, especially not with as much certainty as he did, but luckily everybody was too caught up with the news to notice the solidity behind his words.

"I agree." Ashido went on. "I heard she went missing a few weeks ago, she wouldn't just show up in some other country all of the sudden. That'd be too crazy and reckless."

 _A few weeks ago?_ Shouto frowned. That was definitely impossible. Something didn't add up here. After all…

* * *

Tsuyu carefully watched Shouto's reaction to what she had to say, confirming her own theory that he definitely knew something they didn't.

She realized it the first time they had actually spoken, after the incident at the inn. He seemed… stiff, in comparison to most people she had met until then.

Once you work as a waitress long enough, you can estimate a person's personality just by observing their behaviour. Knowing whether to serve a hot or cold drink can save your life on occasion.

And the first words that came to her mind when he had come to speak to her were _stiff. Formal. Out of place._

He looked spectacularly out of place amongst the paladin, that mage and the adventurer. And yet, they formed a harmony.

It didn't stop there, however. Sometimes it'd be words that she never heard before, dropped in casual conversation. Or phrases or the like.

Once, when she and Iida were collecting fire wood, she asked him where Shouto came from. Maybe his odd manners were due to being from another country?

But the paladin had cheerfully replied that Shouto was on his own quest to find the meaning of life, and that they had met only shortly before arriving at her village.

In fact, it was only due to Shouto's excellent knowledge that they even found her village. Another suspicious aspect. Where did he get that knowledge from?

She had nodded and thanked him, but there were still too many unanswered questions in her mind.

Such as right now. Why was he acting as if the royal court was a bad thing?

She had deliberately spoken slowly and in fragments, and it was definitely the part with the 'royal court' that had begun his unease, and the news about the princess being the peak of it.

On top of all that, the way he'd said that it was impossible sounded so heart-breakingly honest, so raw.

He was definitely hiding something, but the more Tsuyu thought about it, the less she was sure she really wanted to know.

* * *

Their chaotic chatter came to an end with them all agreeing that the event of the princess visiting was a bit too unlikely to happen.

But one question still remained: How had the news spread through the village like wildfire? Where was the instigator? And what was he or she planning?

Was it connected to…?

"I don't feel right leaving this unattended." Izuku spoke up. "It… just doesn't feel right." His fist clenched the fabric over his chest, his knuckles already turning white.

His heart was beating rapidly as he took in all the looks the six other people in the room gave him. Curiosity, worry, incomprehension, everything and nothing.

"It's too dangerous. We shouldn't get involved." Shouto's reply was immediate. Izuku didn't expect anything else, to be honest.

It was the same way he had reacted when Izuku proposed breaking Ashido and Jirou out of jail.

Back then reason had been on his side, and after explaining the two thieves' true objective, the swordmage had eventually given in, revealing himself to be a talented strategist and coming up with a fool-proof plan.

This time, he didn't have anybody's honourable intentions to argue with. In fact, reason lay with Shouto, as it should be their primary objective to get over the border right now.

But it didn't stop his urge to make sure that the people of the village would be okay. His mother always scolded him for putting others before himself, but if it wasn't for that part of him, he'd never have left in search of the One For All, and he'd never have met all these amazing people.

"I'm also not too sure about this, Deku." Uraraka added.

Iida stood next to her, eyes closed and eyebrows set in a deep frown. "While Shouto makes an excellent point, I can't help but share Midoriya's sentiment. I, too, am worried for the villagers."

Jirou glanced at her partner-in-crime, then set her lips into a straight line. "I'll admit that there are too many things here that don't add up, but I don't know whether we should stick our noses into other people's problems."

Tsuyu just shook her head apologetically.

Izuku nodded understandingly as everyone outed their concerns. It went against logic to stay behind now when they should be prioritizing their escape.

"However," Jirou continued after a short pause. "If there should really be something shady going on, and we happen to catch wind of it, it would only be our duty as citizens to stop whatever evil it is from happening, right?" She looked off to the side in an attempt at an indifferent expression.

Izuku nearly started crying at the joy and relief he was flooded with at her words.

"It would really have to be coincidental." Uraraka added, also not looking him in the eye.

"Yeah," he finally mustered. "It have to be really coincidental. What are the odds?"

"Indeed, what are the odds?" Shouto cut in, exasperation lacing his words. "What are the odds that it looks like a lovely evening for a stroll through the village?" His heterochromatic eyes met Izuku's, and Izuku couldn't stop himself from spilling a few tears.

Yes, he really had met so many amazing people. Together with them… surely… he could do it!

* * *

Shouto was really praying to whatever gods reigned the heavens, praying that they wouldn't encounter any trouble.

But a small part of him already knew that Midoriya would not be satisfied until he saved at least one life.

He had learned that the need to help others was so deeply ingrained in the boy's heart and personality that there was nothing he could do about it even if he wanted to.

But that wasn't the real issue here. The real problem was the fancy carriage that was driving through the village, pulled by two white, majestic horses.

He knew it couldn't be the princess, that was impossible. So who was it?

* * *

Ojiro dropped the remains of the apple he had just been eating on the ground, keeping up with the extravagant carriage that was currently being cheered on by the villagers.

He felt Hagakure's presence next to him. "Did you set everything up?"

"Yeah," came her breathy reply, "they'll be inconvenienced once they're in the village outskirts. We can ambush them then."

"Okay, good job." He replied, glancing back at the carriage moving through the streets. Neither of them really expected it to actually show up, but life always finds new ways to surprise you. Just as Hagakure learned she could actually run really fast if she had to in the span of the past half an hour.

Unexpectedly, the villagers crowding on the street had forcefully slowed down the carriage's speed, buying her more time to set up the trap.

Just another day as an assassin.

* * *

Izuku was very good at deducing things, or he'd like to think. So why was it that he only now thought of the consequences of a high-profile person travelling? Why was there a good reason their royal family hardly ever left the capitol?

He slapped himself across the face, earning worried looks from Iida and Uraraka. "I can't believe I'm so stupid."

"What is it, Deku?"

Izuku sighed, running his hands through his hair. "The princess of a foreign country is supposedly travelling through this town on a certain date. That means that a lot of people knew where she'd be and when she'd be there. And not everybody likes the king or his family."

Uraraka gasped in shock. "You don't think…"

Realization crossed Iida's face. "Assassins."

Izuku nodded solemnly. "Yes. Assassins. What if the word was spread around so intensely because somebody hoped that the princess would be assassinated?"

"This is serious." Iida said. "We need to warn her immediately!"

"I don't think she'd listen to us, no matter what we do. Our best chance is to secure the area! We need to think like assassins!"

"As an assassin… I wouldn't want to be seen." Uraraka offered.

"That's right, but at the same time, I wouldn't want to lose sight of my target." Iida added.

Izuku quickly scanned his surroundings, recalling what little of the environment he had seen so far. "The back alleys!"

With that, the three of them ran off.

* * *

Hagakure suddenly let out a loud gasp.

"What is it?" Ojiro turned to her, concern on his face.

"The fail-safe I left on the trap just got activated. We've been compromised."

"Dammit, looks like we have competition. I guess we'll have to do this the old fashioned way." Ojiro sighed, pulling his mask up his face and effortlessly scaling the side of the building. Hagakure followed swiftly.

"So you're gonna dive right in?"

"I don't really have a choice if we want that money. It's been some time since we've even had a proper meal." Ojiro grumbled, preparing his blade.

Hagakure gave him a thumbs-up. "I'll be there to get you out of any trouble, so don't worry."

He nodded gratefully before jumping off the rooftop.

* * *

It happened in one, blinding moment.

Shouto was walking amongst the villagers who were following the carriage, cheering it on. He chided himself for getting so overwhelmed by his curiosity, but a part of him really needed to know who was in that carriage.

And then, a figure landed on top of the carriage, a long, sharp sword glinting in the last rays of the setting sun, face obscured by a mask.

Then the blade sunk through the carriage ceiling.

A scream filled the air. And a second scream followed right after.

And then, there was only silence.

He had pushed through the crowd, ready to chase after the perpetrator, but luckily Midoriya was already there, going after the assassin with his sword drawn.

It took Shouto a few valuable seconds too many to break through the shocked mass, but once he did, he stumbled out in front of the carriage's ajar door.

Against his better judgement, and to satisfy his gnawing curiosity, he opened the door.

Two dead bodies tumbled out onto the ground, splattering blood on his trousers and boots.

And momentarily, he forgot how to breathe.

* * *

Everything after that was a blur.

Apparently Midoriya, Iida and Uraraka had caught the perpetrator, but due to villager testimonies, they had been detained as well, dragging the other three girls into the mess as well.

Shouto lied down on the hard bed the cell offered, bringing his arm up to cover his eyes from the imploring moonlight.

It was ridiculous. The dead girl's corpse came to his mind and he let out a strangled laugh. She was very beautiful, yes, fitting of a princess as some might say. But her long, golden hair was out of place and that chin was just a bit too round.

No matter how you looked at it, that girl was not the princess of the Western Kingdom.

* * *

 **AN: **I changed the rating to T because of violence, death, and Bakugou (next chapter, I swear!).****

 **Now, for those of you who are interested, a short character class breakdown:**

 **Shouto Todoroki – Swordmage**

 **Izuku Midoriya – Swordmage**

 **Tenya Iida – Paladin**

 **Ochako Uraraka – Mage**

 **Tsuyu Asui – Ranger**

 **Kyoka Jirou – Thief**

 **Mina Ashido – Thief**

 **Tooru Hagakure – Assassin**

 **Mashirao Ojiro – Assassin**

 **Coming soon:**

 **Katsuki Bakugou – Barbarian**

 **Eijiro Kirishima – Rogue**

 **Momo Yaoyoruzu – Alchemist (She's still a fighter, don't worry.)**

 **Denki Kaminari – Swashbuckler**

 **Fumikage Tokoyami – (Edgelord?) (Necromancer?) Mage**

 **Hanta Sero - Spy**

 **Shouta Aizawa – Assassin**

 **Toshinori Yagi– Knight**

 **~Emi**


	4. Following The Trail

_**IV. Following The Trail**_

The sun crept up the horizon, basking the plains in the soft hues of the morning sun. One ginormous, slanted eye blinked, then sleepily closed again.

A young blonde man who was sitting on the edge of a cliff impatiently tapped his fingers against the ground, letting out an unsatisfied grunt.

Many large beasts roamed the plains, casting even larger shadows on the uneven, grassy earth.

"I can't believe this bullshit." He muttered, his scowl growing even further. He glowered at the snoring beast in front of him, ultimately resorting to pulling on one of its vibrantly red scales.

"I TOLD YOU TO FUCKING WAKE UP!" He screamed at it.

It howled loudly, lashing a claw the size of three adults at the blonde youth. He dodged it easily.

"FUCKER! WHAT THE HELL DID I SAY ABOUT BEING SO PESTY FIRST THING IN THE MORNING!" He continued shouting at the dragon, who in return let out a ferocious growl.

A yawn sounded from behind him. "Jeez, Bakugou, why are you always like this? Some people are still sleeping, y'know?"

The blonde snapped his head around. "SHUT UP, STUPID HAIR! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M BUSY!?"

The redhead walked past him, seemingly ignoring his presence and petted the large, crimson dragon's snout. "Good morning, boy. Bakugou's just being a jerk again, huh?"

The redhead got a welcoming, well-meant lick across his entire body, at which he just chuckled. "Haha, you're lucky I didn't bathe yet."

"Will you just fucking go already? I don't need your help!" Bakugou seethed, as quietly as a Bakugou could speak.

Kirishima chuckled again before saying goodbye to the dragon, then headed towards the nearby lakes to wash all the dragon slobber off.

"It's your turn to wake her up today, don't forget!" He called out to the ever-angry blonde, serving as an unwanted reminder of the other thorn in his foot before disappearing in the distance.

Bakugou clenched his teeth. Great, just abso-fucking-lutely great.

* * *

" _You wouldn't want something like that happening to Fuyumi, now would you?"_

Shouto gasped quietly as he rose from his uncomfortable sleeping position. Awkwardly, he realized his hand had shot out as well, trying to take hold of something out of his reach.

He gulped, his dry throat screaming out of dehydration, caused by the copious amount of sweat on his brow.

 _A bad dream_ , he realized. Then he shook his head. _No, a bad memory._

But that wasn't what woke him up. It was the air around him. Something was wrong.

The moonlight fell through the small bars of his cell, gently illuminating his surroundings. Including the front of the opposite cell. Which was currently opening by itself.

The blonde half-beast rose from his lotus position and walked out of his imprisonment, nodding at an invisible entity.

Shouto acted instinctively, freezing the entire prison floor. He incredulously looked at the magic-suppressing cuffs on his wrists, thankfully noting that they didn't seem to be doing their job.

A soft, feminine yelp echoed through the cavern corridor, making him redirect his eyes to the blonde man, along with the frozen indent of shoes on the ground, marking the presence of another person.

There _was_ actually an invisible entity.

"Where do you think you are going?" He coldly asked the two of them, in a tone too much like his father's for his liking.

The blonde half-beast turned towards him, a frown forming on his face. "You can still use your magic?"

"That's not what I asked, murderer, answer the question." Shouto ordered, mustering every bit of intimidation he inherited.

"Obviously, we're escaping." A female voice spoke from beside the blonde.

"And what gives you, the actual culprit, or culprits, the right to escape while we're stuck here for your crimes?" Shouto was relentless, but he wasn't about to watch them simply waltz away.

The blonde's expression became unreadable, but the girl responded in a huff of annoyance. "What do you want?"

Shouto blinked, not having thought that far yet. He only knew that he needed to get out of here, along with the others.

Of course!

"If you let my companions and me out, I'm sure there'll be no reason for me to call the guards."

"How do we know whether we can trust you?"

"You don't. But I can release enough magic to wake up the guards." The threat came out evenly and cold.

The girl grunted, and in a glimmer of light a bundle of keys suddenly became visible, landing neatly at his feet.

He glanced at the bundle of metal, then back up at where he assumed the girl was. "That's some pretty hefty magic." He commented.

"Trade secret. Now melt the ice." Her tone was cold and angered, probably upset that she had to give in. He would probably be too in her shoes.

Shouto picked up the keys, nimbly reaching through the bars and unlocking the door. "I'll melt it once I've unlocked the others. Stay put like the dogs you are until then."

The words had escaped his mouth before he could put a leash on them. He couldn't help his bias towards assassins, not ever since his sister nearly met an untimely death at the hand of one of them. They were motivated merely through money, disregarding the value of a human life.

He shook those thoughts out of his head, walking down the now cold corridor. The first cell he passed belonged to Tsuyu, who was shivering for her dear life.

"C-Cold…" She stammered as he unlocked the door, and he could have slapped himself for forgetting that as half-frog, she'd be weak against the cold.

He lit a small flame in his left hand, which she thankfully hovered around. It also served the purpose of lighting the way as the moonlight grew dimmer and dimmer.

* * *

Midoriya's cell was the last one he arrived at.

"Ah, I knew it was you!" He cheerfully greeted him in a similar fashion to Iida. "But it is bit cold."

The rest of the group nodded as well, and with a foggy sigh Shouto released just enough flames to melt the ice, leaving behind small puddles on the ground.

He noted that the assassins would also be freed by that move, but even with his bias towards them, they weren't important right now.

His _friends_ were.

"We need to leave quickly and see whether we can get our stuff, if not, we'll have to wing it and hope we can get something in the next town." He quietly shared with the group, to which all agreed silently.

Jirou and Ashido went ahead, putting their skills as thieves to use while the rest quietly waited at the entrance to the cells.

* * *

Ojiro and Hagakure sighed in relief once the ice that was keeping them in place melted away into water.

"Thank god." Hagakure muttered. "If he'd actually kept us frozen here, it'd have become pretty messy."

"No kidding." Ojiro remarked. "That was really close. C'mon, let's go before something else happens."

He was about to break out into a sprint, but halted when he realized that she was still standing there. He turned towards her.

"Is this… about what he said?"

He took her silence as an affirmative.

"We've faced these kinds of issues before, don't forget what our master taught us. We need to be strong."

She remained still, judging by the way the puddle around her feet calmed down.

"But he's right." Her voice was small, quiet.

"And what if he is?" Ojiro reached out to where her hand would be and grasped it, pulling her along behind him. "What if we're dogs, the kind that doesn't bark and instead bites when you least expect it? What if we're the wolves that roam the forests nobody dares enter? What if we're the hunting dogs supporting the hunters in capturing their prey?"

There was hesitance in her step pattern, but then her grip around his hand tightened confidently. "I'm sorry, my head is clear now. There's a safer path out of here."

She pulled him in the opposite direction of where he remembered coming from, and he smiled slightly.

They'd be okay. They'd be okay as long as they had each other.

* * *

Jirou slipped through the crack in the door in a fluid motion. "Good news, they have all our stuff here. Apparently they were inspecting it or something. Bad news, Mina thinks it'll be difficult to get it out."

Jirou was about to continue speaking, but then her eyes fell on the unconscious lump amongst the group.

"Oh my god, what did you do to Iida?" She whisper-yelled with wide-eyes.

"He was panicking." Shouto explained to her simply. "And there's a pressure point at the back of your neck…"

Tsuyu sighed. Pressure points seemed to be Shouto's solution for everything. Feeling nauseous? Pressure point on your foot. Headache? Pressure point on your shoulder. Becoming so restless you might jeopardize the entire group? Pressure point at the back of your neck.

Perhaps he studied under a healer of sorts? His past was still as big a mystery as it was the day before.

"W-well, anyways, what's the plan?" Jirou asked, trying to ignore the paladin's motionless form on the staircase.

Midoriya was already deep in thought. "I'd say two of us take Iida away, the others retrieve our luggage, and Shouto gets the horse so that we can transport it all easier."

Shouto nodded, slipping through in order to get the horse, which was probably still in front of the inn.

Tsuyu watched him leave, realizing she never thought about exactly why he had a horse.

Shouto was just one riddle after the other.

"Uraraka and I will take Iida. Let's meet up outside of the village gate." Tsuyu spoke up, getting confirmation from the brown-haired mage. She cast a quick spell to make Iida lighter and Tsuyu wrapped her long tongue around his sleeping form before the two of them slipped out the door.

Uraraka took quiet, cautious steps, peeking around corners and releasing subtle magic pulses to make sure there was nobody else around.

She signalled Tsuyu to follow, and together they exited the building through the front door which Shouto had thankfully left open on his way out.

Whatever Shouto's goals were, they were not of bad intent, so Tsuyu decided to let go of the questions in her mind, at least for now.

* * *

Izuku grimaced at the sight before him. He now understood why Ashido and Jirou said it'd be difficult to get everything out.

When the purple-haired girl had suggested they probably took everything for inspection, she wasn't joking.

All their belongings were methodically spread out around a large room to which Ashido had just finished melting the locks off with her magic.

"Alright…" he whispered. "We'll secure the money, water and food first, everything else can wait."

The two thieves nodded, Ashido heading towards where their money bags were stacked neatly, and Jirou grabbing the first water canisters.

Izuku began picking up the food packages as quietly as possible, prioritizing the things that wouldn't make too much noise when moved. He paused when he saw the magic cloth that was holding the fish Uraraka had meticulously haggled for just a few hours ago.

He knew it'd still be encased in Shouto's magic ice, keeping it fresh and edible until they were ready to eat it.

The heterochromatic boy kept fascinating him with one thing after the other. Uraraka had mentioned that even for a mage like her, learning ice magic was pretty difficult, in fact you either had to be extremely talented or simply born with it, but natural-born ice-users were extremely rare, especially in the Southern Kingdom.

Not to mention Shouto's extensive knowledge and strategizing skills, and the way he had single-handedly secured their escape out of a mess Izuku himself was partially responsible for.

He didn't think the law enforcement would be so strict and arrest them along with the assassin he, Iida and Uraraka had managed to catch.

With regret, he remembered that they hadn't been fast enough to rescue the princess or her companion.

Shaking those thoughts off, he picked up the fish and snuck down towards the main entrance, where Shouto would hopefully already be waiting for them.

* * *

Ojiro and Hagakure searched the bench behind the church for their reward, but once they did find it, they were surprised to see that they only received half of the promised amount.

"What the…?" The disbelief in Hagakure's voice barely remained hidden. "There's a note as well." She unfolded the piece of paper.

"You only killed one of the targets, so you only get one corpse's worth." She read aloud, a frown undoubtedly forming on her face.

"That's impossible." Ojiro took the paper from her, reading it again with his own eyes. "I don't understand, I'm sure I got both of them!"

"It's simple actually." Another voice spoke up from behind them. Both snapped around instantaneously, hands already drawing their weapons.

The newcomer held up both hands. "Woah there, relax, it's just me." The figure grinned. "Back on topic, think about this: What if that girl wasn't actually the princess?"

Ojiro relaxed, lowering his blade. "The intel we received said that the girl with the seller was the princess. It added up once they entered the village."

The figure shook its head while clicking its tongue. "That's sloppy info gathering, Tailman. That was just some random girl in a fancy dress. If you'd actually done a proper job, like me, you'd know where the real princess is now."

"Care to share?" Hagakure asked sceptically.

The figure chuckled. "Don't worry, this job was impossible from the get-go. After all…"

* * *

Shouto worried whether the horse's steps were too loud on the cobblestone, but luckily the only people around were drunkards who were busy emptying their stomach contents into niches between buildings and alleys.

Some guy walking around with a fully laden horse was the least of their interests. Even those who weren't busy throwing up were pre-occupied trying to woo waitresses and any other women around.

Only the minority was actually successful in doing so, he noted.

Midoriya, Ashido and Jirou were walking behind him, each one with their arms full. As he guessed, they didn't have the capacity to take all of their belongings, but they had enough money to compensate, at least enough to safely cross into the Western Kingdom.

For once, his royal status was helpful, as he knew that the West was pretty much in shambles because of the King's unwise decisions over the course of the past few years, so sneaking over the border would be pretty simple.

His father made it a point to use the Western King as a negative example in every one of his lessons, making him the ultimate image of a 'weak king who couldn't protect anything he cared about'.

Shouto's fist unknowingly clenched at the memory of the conversation he had with his father after the Western King made his first big mistake.

It was the first time Shouto realized how vulnerable even royalty could be when in a tight spot. It was the first time his father didn't hit him for his inappropriate reaction.

" _You wouldn't want something like that happening to Fuyumi, now would you?"_

He clenched and unclenched his fist, taking a deep breath. That was all in the past now. Fuyumi was strong, she could protect herself.

More importantly, Shouto highly doubted his father would give her the same treatment the Western King had given his daughter.

Not after all the bad-mouthing he did.

He inhaled slowly, and then exhaled, calming his mind.

Right now, he needed to focus. The village gates weren't much further, and it wouldn't be long before the sleeping gas Jirou had put in the guard's room would wear off.

Uraraka had offered to use a more permanent sleeping spell, but the amount of magic that she would have released with that would have been enough to attract any highly-sensitive magicians in the entire village, so they decided to not risk it.

Thankfully, having two thieves in their party was beginning to prove extremely useful with all the tricks they had up their sleeves.

* * *

They met up with the other three outside the gate, completing their objective of getting out without any further troubles.

After distributing their supplies and Iida had woken up again, extravagantly apologizing for his poor reaction and offering to shoulder most of the weight, the rest of the group collectively sighed and let him carry out his redemption by giving him the water canisters.

Together, they continued heading west.

* * *

The young man curiously picked up the small container in the guard's room, his other hand holding a cloth to his face.

It was an interesting contraption, releasing some kind of sleep agent into the air.

He set it back on the ground and exited the room, turning left and heading down the staircase that presumably led to the cells.

There were peculiar puddles along the uneven stone ground, so the man knelt down and ran a finger through it after taking off his glove.

He smirked to himself. No conduction.

This group of bandits was definitely the same one that broke out the two wanted thieves in the next village. The same group that somehow had somebody who knew how to use ice magic.

Coincidentally the same group that seemed to have somebody in it that bore a striking resemblance to the young prince.

* * *

"…Can you repeat that?" Ojiro was speechless. How could that be?

"If you didn't catch it the first time, it reflects how badly your teacher taught you." The figure waved goodbye before disappearing in the darkness.

Hagakure grumbled. "But how come nobody noticed yet? Wouldn't that be blaringly obvious? The commoners must've realized, right?"

Ojiro ran his hand through his hair. "It's not quite impossible." He sighed. "Maybe the princess never went out much, like the royal family here. Only those wealthy enough to live in the capitol know what they look like."

"But they'd surely notice, right? Especially with the rumours going around lately, somebody had to notice that something was off, right?"

"I guess she was right, we didn't do our research." Ojiro admitted out loud. "I know the Western Kingdom is going through a rough patch right now, so it would be easy to overlook something like a princess who hasn't shown her face in years."

Hagakure looked towards the alley in which the other assassin disappeared. "I hope master isn't too disappointed in us."

"There was nothing we could do about it, even if we knew. We still got the pay for the seller though, so we'll just have to call it a day."

Hagakure tore her eyes off the shadows.

"I guess."

* * *

Shouto stared into the rippling flames. They shifted from red to orange to yellow and back to red. It was fascinatingly beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

"In beauty lies danger." He quoted his father in a near inaudible whisper.

He sighed and ran his palm over his face. Then he glanced at the others, who were all sleeping soundly. He wished he could too, but every time he closed his eyes, he'd be haunted by the memories that began to resurface ever since he had heard the four dreadful words 'princess of the West'.

He hardly got to know her, so why? He stopped projecting her fate on his sister a long time ago, as well.

Another sigh, this time laced with frustration and confusion, escaped his lips. He wanted to know. He _needed_ to know.

 _Just like her_ , his treacherous mind whispered.

He slapped himself, knowing that the rest of the group were such sound sleepers that they wouldn't notice.

The fact that somebody else had been parading as her for the past nine years made him feel sick. That girl had definitely been dressed in western royal garments, but she was not the princess.

Why? Because the Princess of the West died nine years ago.

* * *

His steps fell heavy as he stomped towards the lake with the bucket in his hands.

The majestic, white dragon guarding the lake gave him an uninterested glance before returning to sleep.

"Assholes, all of them, sleeping as long as they fucking want to." The blonde youth grumbled angrily, dipping the bucket into the lake.

Bakugou filled the bucket of water all the way to the brim, then made sure it was as icy cold as possible. Nodding to himself in satisfaction, he stood up again and carried it back towards the living area in a practiced manner, not one drop of water swishing over the rim.

With the corner of his mouth twitching in annoyance, he headed towards the small hut next to his parents' one.

Without bothering to announce himself, he entered and unceremoniously emptied the bucket over the sleeping mass of tangled blankets and long, black hair.

The girl didn't even shriek anymore, she just sleepily lifted her hand and waved him away.

Luckily, he was prepared for this. Picking up the second bucket he had put there beforehand, he dumped this one over her sleeping form as well.

She groaned loudly. "You can learn to just ask politely, you know? Like a normal person?" Tired, charcoal eyes glared at him through drenched hair, and he felt himself grinning victoriously in return.

"Where would the fun in that be, Ponytail?"

* * *

 **AN: One angry boi Bakugou and one Momo, ready for serving with a side dish of Kirishima! **(BakuMomo is my BNHA brotp, deal with it.)****

 **Aaaah, but I must say, writing Bakugou is like letting your frustrations out, but at the same time you're doing something productive. I like writing Bakugou.**

 **I should write more Bakugou.**

 ** ** **The reviews are also what led to Momo being introduced in this chapter, and not two chapters later like I originally planned. So please do leave one :))******

 ** ** ** **~Emi********


	5. Journey To The West

_**VI. Journey To The West**_

 **(AN: No, I couldn't resist naming this chapter like this.)**

Shouto's fist clenched around the blanket covering him as he stared up at starry night, the moon seemingly mocking his insomnia by shining brighter than ever.

He sighed, attempting one more time to close his eyes and maybe get some much-needed sleep.

Not that this feeble attempt was much different from his others. The moment his vision went black, he was standing in _that_ room again.

The sunlight flooded the lavishly decorated, yet practical room in a soft summer glow, and he was stuck there, standing in the obscured shadow, watching that scene over and over again, caught up in an infinite loop.

He felt himself grimace as the two children hovered around a table.

His younger self was quiet and reserved, a boy of not many words and expressions. That much hadn't changed. His hair was combed down neatly, and his posture was as straight as a rod.

King Enji must've been proud of him.

He stepped out of the corner, walking through the room his mind had recreated from his memories, the endless hours spent in it forming the study he had come to resent almost as much as his father.

" _So, what is this?" The young girl pointed towards the peculiar map on the table._

" _That's a map my father made. It's to simulate unforeseen scenarios." His younger self answered diligently._

He remembered his father asking him to entertain the young foreign princess, not that Shouto knew what he was supposed to do. Luckily, the girl had been a driving force of her own.

" _Ooooh!" Her eyes glimmered with curiosity. "It looks a lot like the map of this area, but all the town names are wrong." She pointed out._

 _He simply nodded at her observation. "Father thought it'd be best if I learned from a familiar environment."_

" _Makes sense. What are these?" Her voice grew with excitement once her line of sight landed on the small figurines methodically packed away in a box._

A young Shouto took out one small figurine after the other and put it on the map that was lain out on the table.

" _With this, I show where my fortress is. With these, you can place the enemy troops. And these here represent my troops."_

He continued walking around the room in his dream realm, stopping opposite of the second person in the room.

The other child, a young girl with long, black hair, studied his movements with a thirst for knowledge and fascination.

Her eyes were dark, the darkest of blacks he had ever seen, and while her facial features were somewhat fuzzy, he would never forget the genuineness in those orbs.

And then she smiled, rivalling the sunlight.

It was the first time he met her, and the last time he saw her smile.

* * *

His eyes shot open again, just as they always did once his dreams reached that point. It was a mechanism to protect himself, just like the way his mind had pushed those memories aside for so many years.

But it was also, in a sense, cowardly.

Giving up on getting any sleep, once again, he pushed the thin cloth aside and walked over to the small lake near the clearing they had set up their camp for the night. The first thing that was blatantly reflected by the water's unforgiving surface was how tired he looked.

The sleepless nights were getting to him, and it didn't help that they had to take a longer route than planned to the western borders.

They had all nearly suffered from a collective heart attack after only narrowly avoiding a search party comprised out of knights, and without dispute they agreed on taking a safer route. Going through the forests might lead to encounters with bandits, but those were easier to deal with than knights of the royal court.

He quietly splashed some of the cold water against his face, but it did nothing against his tiredness, in fact it only seemed to emphasize it even more.

He dipped his hands into the clear water once more, sinking into his thoughts. Why were the events of nine years ago suddenly plaguing him so heavily? There was nothing he could've done to stop it, even if he had known about what was going to happen.

While his father could've done something, he wondered whether the fated outcome would still be the same, no matter what.

A small pecking sensation brought him out of the depths of his mind, and with a startle he realized that he had become so motionless that a small fish began nibbling on his numb fingertips.

Pulling his cold hand out of the water, he mentally berated himself. This was not good for his health.

The night sky began melting into lighter shades of blues and oranges behind the horizon filled with trees, indicating the arrival of the morning hours.

He groaned. So much for getting any sleep.

He stood up again and went back to his sleeping place, pulling out a small rag that had served as his towel for quite some time now, using it to dry his face off.

Next to him, Midoriya stirred in his sleep, mumbling something incoherent.

The first rays of sunlight broke through the silhouettes of the trees, reminding him of the demonic dream that haunted him.

He quietly sat down on the grassy ground, assuming a lotus position, not unlike the assassin they encountered just the day before.

Maybe, if he just took a deep breath, maybe, if he faced this particular demon of his past, maybe he'd be able to sleep again.

He let his lids close, and in an instant he was where his previous dreams always cut him off. In these dreams, she was still alive, smiling, giggling.

* * *

And frowning.

" _You're… not very good at this, are you?" She asked bluntly, her gaze leaving the map to give his younger self and inquisitive look._

 _Taken aback, he gave her an incredulous look. "Excuse me?"_

Shouto already knew what she meant, but watching his younger self fluster was actually quite amusing.

 _Her small hand reached out to point at the figurines. "Isn't it really stupid to put your stronghold here and your troops over here?" Her hand still hovered over the board._

" _Well, I just placed them randomly, so I guess you could say it isn't a real scenario…" The young boy began justifying himself, but the princess wasn't listening to him anymore._

Her small fingers tapped against her chin in a monotone rhythm as she stared at the map in deep thought.

" _What if, by bad coincidence, you were caught up in a situation like this?" She suddenly asked._

* * *

Shouto flinched as the sunlight hit his closed lids and blinded him momentarily, breaking him out of his trance.

With a sigh, he put a halt to his efforts as the others began to wake up one after the other.

Soon enough, Uraraka was already preparing breakfast with Iida while Midoriya and Tsuyu studied a map of the area. Jirou and Ashido were still sleeping, but they all silently agreed to let the two thieves sleep longer after their efforts the previous night.

After feeding some older carrots to his horse, he headed over to the two who were currently hovering over the map.

"Good morning, Shouto."

"You look terrible."

While Midoriya greeted him cheerfully, Tsuyu hit him right in the face with her bluntness.

He yawned. "I know, just didn't sleep that well." He answered curtly, throwing a glance at the parchment in their hands.

"We've still got quite a bit of travelling in front of us, huh?"

Midoriya nodded, his finger trailing over a freshly inked line on the paper. "I'd say about another two days, if we want to avoid any unwanted encounters with the officials."

"In addition to that, we need to make sure that we don't get caught by the border patrols." Tsuyu added.

Shouto subconsciously shook his head. "I think that'll be the least of our problems."

* * *

Shouto was definitely troubled by something, but Tsuyu felt hesitant at prying too much. He was the kind of person who kept his problems to himself, even if he had opened up to their little group.

And whatever it was this time, it was not letting him rest.

"Why would you say that?" She inquired at his careless statement.

For a split second, he froze up.

"Oh, I heard some rumours that they're not doing so well, so their border wouldn't be too high on their list of priorities, right?"

It was a good save, but after all the time Tsuyu had spent studying him, it was clear that it was a blatant lie.

However, Midoriya, as ever, was too trusting. "Ah, I heard about those as well. Some even said that gypsies started settling down around there because the patrols were so lenient."

The two continued discussing the border situation, and after quickly sharing the route with the others, they packed up and continued their journey.

Tsuyu watched the mysterious mage from behind as he led the horse. She knew she had considered letting things go, but it just didn't sit right with her.

She never held her tongue and always spoke what was on her mind, so why was she so hesitant this time around?

She let her gaze sweep over the entire group.

Midoriya, the earnest adventurer, who, on second thought, also seemed to have a questionable background. He told her that he grew up in a small village and one day left in order to find the legendary One For All, but he had a plan.

They were heading west for a reason, because Midoriya said that it'd be there. To her own horror, Tsuyu realized that she was so caught up trying to figure Shouto out that she completely overlooked the blatant hole in his story.

How did he know it'd be in the Western Kingdom?

Her eyes fell on Iida next. The honourable paladin had probably suffered most from their nightly activities. He had a lot of pride, especially in the family name he had been given. The paladin often told tales of his accomplished older brother, and not one of his tales were laced with jealousy, only pure admiration.

Breaking out two criminals and getting arrested himself must've been hard on him and his pride.

Speaking of those two criminals, Ashido and Jirou had made their goals pretty clear. Originally from a village in the Eastern Kingdom, they grew up in poverty and decided to come to the Southern Kingdom because everybody always said that life here was better.

After having difficulties finding a job, they resorted back to the only thing they knew: theft.

Midoriya had a way of talking to people, inspiring them. She remembered her brief conversation with him, and how his bright soul had blinded her from seeing the flaws in his story.

Why?

Because he had brought back her nearly-abandoned yearn for adventure, the dream she was ready to give up on.

His words were so honest, so full of life that you just wanted to believe him, and before you knew it, you were already falling into the unknown depth.

She saw the same thing happen with Jirou and Ashido. The thought of finding the legendary sword and becoming actual heroes was the perfect opportunity of turning away from their life of crime.

And Midoriya made you want to believe that that goal was within your reach.

Uraraka told her that she wanted to use the riches they were going to find to give her family a better life, she wanted to become her family's hero.

On that note, her eyes glanced at Shouto's back. What did Midoriya inspire him to pursue?

* * *

"Shouto, Tsuyu, could you guys gather some wood for the fire?" Iida asked them, to which they both nodded.

Everybody went to their assigned tasks at their new camp site, and Tsuyu followed Shouto as he led them into the woods.

His tired, heterochromatic eyes roamed the ground, and he picked up multiple pieces of wood, examining them to see whether they were dry enough or not. With some light fire spells he quickly dried those that weren't.

A few seconds later, he turned to her. "Is something wrong?"

Without realizing it, Tsuyu had begun frowning.

She swallowed down the hesitance that kept her from speaking up before. "Yes, actually, something is wrong. I have a question for you."

* * *

Shouto halted his movements, straightening his back before giving the frog girl his undivided attention. "Yes? What do you want to ask me?"

She seemed incapable of meeting his eyes, but a few seconds later, she managed to with determination burning in her eyes.

"Who… are you?"

"…pardon?" He whispered, still shocked at her question. A part of his mind nagged him that he should have thought of a solid backstory instead of obsessing over a dead princess, but he would have been at a loss of words either way.

"I asked you… who you really were." Tsuyu repeated seriously. "I know Iida thinks you're the apprentice of a state magician, but that doesn't seem right."

He gulped. "Why… would you say that?"

"You know too much. You're too educated. It's as if you've memorised this kingdom's map, but at the same time, you must have been in contact with high-ranking members of the court to know as much as about the state of the country that you do. Villages, borders, other countries. It's not 'just rumours you've overheard', they are all facts you know."

The words tumbled out messily, and she wasn't done yet. "Not to mention that we only have your first name, and I find it hard to believe that anybody who can afford a horse and clothes like yours doesn't have a second name. Even Jirou and Ashido have second names, and they're thieves."

Shouto hesitated. "I…" Should he explain himself to her? How would that effect the group? Would they turn against him for hiding that particular detail from them?

"I don't think you'd believe me, even if I told you. I…" He fumbled with his words, because he had no clue what to say. If he told her the truth, he'd sound incredibly petty, selfish and ungrateful.

He likes their current group dynamics. They've accepted him as 'Shouto', and that's all he wants from life. He doesn't need titles like 'Prince' or 'Lord Todoroki', he just wants to be 'Shouto'.

Her gaze was relentless. "I know this sounds harsh, but I find it difficult to trust you if you don't even trust us enough to tell us your real name."

Shouto felt his features harden. He wasn't ready to put their trust in him on the line, not after he's come so far.

"I… I left that life behind, for a good reason. I don't like talking about it, not even to myself." He finally explained, every word a dagger-like risk poking at his thawing heart.

Tsuyu's look morphed into a confused scowl, with hints of disappointment. "I didn't think you'd be one to run away from your problems. Keeping them to yourself is one thing, but trying to outrun them is another. That's just being cowardly."

The word 'cowardly' echoed in his mind, and he was painfully amused at the irony of the situation. Hadn't he used that exact word to describe himself mere hours ago? Shouto found himself giving her a sad smile. "I… already know that."

Her scowl softened slightly, and just as she was about to say something else, Iida's distinct voice called out their names, reminding them that they had another objective besides speaking about his personal issues.

"Let's continue this conversation some other time." He suggested quickly, before she could say anything else.

"Yeah." She complied, picking up another stick.

They returned to the campsite in thick silence, but nobody else seemed to pick up on the awkward air between them.

* * *

Tsuyu absentmindedly stirred her food, wondering whether she had gone too far. It was painfully obvious how he had built up numerous emotional walls around him at the mention of his past, meaning that whatever it was, it had to be bad.

It left a new question burning in her mind: Even if he wasn't a direct threat to them, would he attract unwanted trouble?

* * *

New day, new campsite, same starry sky, same mocking moon, same insomnia.

Shouto turned onto his other side for the fifth time, his troubled mind not letting him get a wink of definitely much-needed sleep.

They were still in the Southern Kingdom, and even if they were extremely lucky, the earliest they'd be over the border was past nightfall tomorrow.

On top of that, Tsuyu had openly expressed her suspicion of his origins, making things more complicated than he'd like them to be.

And, the king of all his troubles, he was still having those dreams. The snippets of memories of that day came back over and over again, inching closer and closer to the dreaded conversation with his father.

He closed his eyes, giving himself to the monsters of his conscience.

* * *

" _What if, by bad coincidence, you were caught up in a situation like this?" She suddenly asked._

 _His younger self gave her an inquiring eyebrow raise, to which she merely sighed. "What if you got outsmarted by the enemy, let's say… tricked into sending your troops here, while they approached from here."_

 _He gave the map another one-over. "I'd be in a tight spot." He admitted in conclusion._

 _She nodded. "Yes, you'd be in a tight spot, but it's not impossible to get out of it." She closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side, in what he assumed was her 'thinking posture'._

" _As expected of the Kingdom of the South." She nodded approvingly once she broke out of her thoughts. "Preparing even for scenarios like these."_

 _Eight-year-old Shouto felt like pointing out that his father gave him far more manageable scenarios, but once her eyes lit up with determination and eagerness, he couldn't bring himself to say anything._

" _Alright, I shall step up to the challenge and solve the conundrum that has been set before me!" She declared dramatically, before beginning the mock-operation._

" _Since my troops are too far away, the first thing I'd do is send a messenger… no, multiple messengers, just to make sure the news really reaches them. Have all of them take different routes, as well,…" Her fingers nimbly placed the letter-shaped objects on the thin lines representing trails._

" _Now that the messengers are on their way, I just have to hold out until they arrive. Actually, if I'm allied with any of the other Kingdoms, I'll have two messengers sent their way as well, asking for assistance." She put down two more figurines._

 _His younger self looked at the board. "What if you don't have that many messengers?"_

 _She glanced up at him, blinking in confusion. "You have an entire city surrounding your stronghold. If you are a good ruler, there will be enough commoner people willing to run an errand for you, right?"_

He chuckled half-heartedly, as he remembered nearly blanching, realizing that she had a very valid point. Carrying a message was something simple enough for servants to do, and there were more than enough of those in any well-established castle.

 _Young Shouto nodded, bewildered at the sudden smile that grew on her face. "Oh, were you testing me? I feel so honoured!" She giggled, bringing up her hands to cover her mouth in a subconscious gesture._

In retrospect, it was kind of endearing.

Watching her, even after all these years, was indescribably fascinating. The rest of the room disappeared into his periphery as his focus rested solely on the girl.

 _Not waiting for his answer, she continued her assessment instead._

" _Now I just have to make sure my stronghold holds out… oh, so that's why it's called that!"_

And yet, at heart, she was just an eight-year-old girl.

 _She disappeared into her own world of mumblings, broken sentences and obscure words Shouto had never heard before, all while making one tactical decision after the other. With each move, the situation grew easier to manage, with each trap set the enemy troops were held at bay while the civilians were being evacuated._

Both his current self and the young prince could only watch in awe as she solved the Gordian Knot with a flick of her wrist.

But at the same time, Shouto didn't want it to end. Her finishing the task meant her leaving, which also meant he'd never see her again.

* * *

He woke with a gasp.

To his dismay, the moon was still smiling down on him, as were the constellations. The dream had progressed further than the last few times, leaving his hands trembling and unsteady, just like his mind.

A prodigy, a child genius. Anybody who ever called him that obviously never met her. And they'd never gotten the chance to.

He nearly chuckled at the memory of him asking his father what a 'conundrum' was, and the inconspicuous way his father had checked a dictionary before giving him the answer. Knowing even his father had faults had been quite a relief.

"Conundrum." He said aloud, the word sounding foreign and distant, but when she had used it, it sounded like a fluid melody, like there was no other word for her to use in its place. "A puzzle."

He briefly wondered, if he closed his eyes again, would he have to watch her go, and never come back?

His lips set into a tight line. He wasn't ready for that.

" _You're a coward."_ The sentence rang in his mind, his own voice merging with Tsuyu's, somehow forming the young princess' blurry face and her high pitched voice.

He sighed. And… what if he was?

* * *

"Hey, you feeling okay?" Izuku asked Shouto, concern evident in his tone.

The white-red-haired boy nodded somewhat absentmindedly. "Yeah, I'm… fine."

The pause in his answer did not go unnoticed.

"If you say so." The green-haired boy answered. In the background, he saw Tsuyu frown at Shouto, but it was so short-lived he might as well have imagined it.

Izuku wasn't one to pry, especially since it could easily backfire on him.

Explaining exactly how he knew about the One For All was something he'd like to avoid.

* * *

Tsuyu contemplated talking to Shouto again. How would she address the matter without stepping too close for comfort?

Of course, she could just let it be, but that'd go against her nature.

* * *

The sun travelled across the sky as they got closer and closer to the border, until it finally disappeared behind the horizon.

Jirou and Ashido returned to the campsite after some extensive recon of the area.

"It seems the patrols are really lacklustre." The purple-haired girl began. "We shouldn't have any problems getting over."

Midoriya nodded at the new information. "I see. Then we'll cross at daybreak."

The group acknowledged the new plan, everybody settling down to sleep earlier than usual to make sure they got enough sleep before facing the real challenge the next day.

This included Shouto, who found himself hesitating. What would his dreams encompass this time?

" _Cowardly."_ His father's voice spoke from his memories. _"Weak."_

Shouto gave the starry sky one last glance before closing his eyes. Anything to get away from his father's voice.

* * *

 _Once she was done, all civilians were safe, not a single enemy made it past the city gates and her fortress was secure as ever, standing proudly in its rather inconvenient position._

 _She had a satisfied, victorious smile dancing on her lips._

" _So, did I do alright?" She turned to him, the question earnestly tumbling from her mouth._

 _His younger self simply nodded, not quite selfless enough to admit how outstanding she was. "Yes, that was well done."_

Shouto had walked over to the little girl, putting a hand on her shoulder, but it just slipped through the apparition of her. "No, that wasn't just well done. That was outstanding." He corrected his younger self.

 _The answer seemed to be more than enough to please her as her smile grew even wider. "I'm glad! This was fun, let's do another one!"_

 _Young him returned the smile. She was a good-hearted person, somebody who was more suited for the image his father had of a perfect child. She was by far more suited than him to be a leader._

" _Sure," Young Shouto complied, wondering what she would come up with during the next scenario._

Sadly, he never got to see that.

 _Once he was done setting up the board anew, he saw her staring at it pensively yet again. "You know, I don't think this here represents the fortress enough." Her index finger tapped the clay figurine shaped like a tower._

" _It doesn't? I think it does its job." His eight-year-old version replied, never having given the simplicity of the pieces any thought._

 _Her lips set into a straight line. "I have an idea." Then she put the palms of her hands against each other, closed her eyes and concentrated on something._

 _With a deep exhale, she pulled something out of her skin. A small, clay figurine in the shape of a proud castle, the same shade of blue as the others._

" _You know alchemy?" He practically blurted out in disbelief._

 _The girl nodded with a proud smile. "Yes, I learned it from one of our state magicians."_

Shouto watched her exchange the simple tower with her newest, intricate castle. Up until this day, alchemy fascinated him immensely. It was a delicate form of magic that was rather difficult to learn and needed many years to grasp and master.

His father, on the other hand, had dismissed it as a waste of time and concentrated on his natural skills as a fire and ice mage.

He felt himself clench his fists. He knew what would come next.

With a blink of his eye, he was still in the same room, but it was noticeably darker. The girl was gone, replaced by his older sister.

There were tears running down her face.

Then, his father slapped her. Hard. With a cry of pain she fell against the table, knocking it over along with everything it held.

One clay figurine hit the ground after the other, and with the distinct sound of them breaking and shattering, laying around his sister's sobbing form in shambles.

The last one to break was the pristine castle the young, smiling princess had made, and when it hit the ground it disappeared into dust.

Like a bad omen.

* * *

The memory was suffocating him, so he tried to break out of it. He didn't want to see his sister crying, he didn't want to see his father glaring down at them, he didn't want to be reminded of the clay dust on the ground, leaving behind the only proof that the princess had ever existed.

And then, to his horror, Shouto realized that he was _actually_ suffocating.

His reaction was instantaneous, snapping his eyes open and clawing at whatever was in front of his face.

The first thing he saw was golden eyes, gleaming in the moonlight.

His hand grasped the mystery person's wrist in an attempt to freeze it, but the other person knowingly pulled away in time.

"I'm afraid that won't work on me, Your Highness." The stranger said confidently after creating distance between them.

Shouto coughed loudly, gasping as all his airways were free again. Why has nobody else woken up yet? The stranger began disappearing into the depths of the forest, and with a grimace, he followed.

While pursuing him, he took in the stranger's full appearance. "You say that, yet you clearly don't want to fight me,…"

He wore Southern fashion, the kind from the capitol, also the kind you spent quite a bit of money on. Matching his golden eyes, the stranger sported a head of equally golden locks.

"…Denki Kaminari." Shouto finished, finally recognizing the bounty hunter's flamboyant outfit.

"Oh, the young prince knows my name? I'm flattered." Kaminari tipped his feathered hat in appreciation, after coming to a halt.

"Why are you here? And what did you do to them?" He demanded, gesturing towards the campsite.

Kaminari frowned. "It seems there have been many misunderstandings, as I suspected. Don't worry about them, though."

"What are you talking about?"

"I, and the rest of the capitol, were under the impression that Your Highness has been kidnapped by a group of bandits." The blonde explained.

"What?!" The voice filled with disbelief did not belong to Shouto.

He snapped his head around to the source, only to see a wide-eyed Tsuyu behind.

* * *

Tsuyu knew that she actually really needed to sleep, but the questions whirring around in her mind left her restless.

Then, all of a sudden, she heard some rough coughs, along with hushed conversation.

She turned onto her other side, slowly opening her eyes. With a gasp, she saw Shouto and a mysterious figure disappear into the woods.

Without a moment's hesitation, she scrambled up out of her sleeping bag and followed them. She grit her teeth, there was no time to wake the others up, not with how heavily they slept. They didn't even realize it had started raining, after all.

Shouto's outline remained faint in the distance, but she still managed to follow at a reasonable pace. Then, finally, both figures stopped running.

She got on all fours, using her amphibian nature to sneak up on them. She had no idea whether this stranger's intentions were good or bad, so she wasn't going to make any rash decisions.

But when she finally got within earshot, she overheard two words that made her act rash.

"…that Your Highness has been kidnapped by a group of bandits."

 _Your Highness?!_

"What?" The word escaped her lips before she could stop herself, and to her own horror, it was clearly audible to the two men over the soft pitter-patter of the rain.

"Tsuyu?!" Shouto called out to her, shock resonating loudly in his voice, but she was still side-tracked by what was said before that.

"Is it true…?" The question came out meeker than she'd have liked, but it was still loud enough for him to hear.

For a moment, he didn't seem to know what to do with his face as it ran through multiple expressions, ultimately he settled on an angry scowl that he directed at the stranger.

"This is all your fault." He hissed at the man in a dangerously low voice.

* * *

Shouto didn't know what to say to Tsuyu, or what could possibly change the glaring outcome of the situation, but he did know that if Kaminari hadn't shown up, then it wouldn't have come to this, at least not yet.

The blonde gave him a cocky grin in response. "I'd say it's your own fault. The Great Knight Monoma said they were beaten down by a group of bandits, and in the scuffle you were taken hostage. And while you certainly are hanging out with a group of bandits, I highly doubt any one of them, nor all of them together are strong enough to overpower the proud Prince of the South."

"Monoma is a filthy bastard, and everybody knows it." Shouto muttered angrily. "And don't call me that, I don't want that stupid title anymore!"

"Filthy bastard or not, he is a Great Knight. His word holds value, enough to make your father offer a hefty sum of money to whoever returned his son." Kaminari explained. "And I like easy money."

Shouto scoffed. "Oh, all of a sudden I'm his 'son', not just his successor or tool anymore?" His raw, suppressed emotions took hold of him faster than he could put a lid on them. "I don't care what my father says, I'm not going back!"

Kaminari smirked. "Fine, then I'll have to take you back by force." His hand wrapped around the handle of his rapier, and by the time he had drawn it the air crackled with electricity.

Shouto let an emotionless mask slip onto his face. "You actually think you can defeat me?" He asked icily.

* * *

Tsuyu could only follow the conversation in disbelief. Shouto's voice felt sad, hurt, lonely, and it was so painful to listen to him speaking about his father like that.

And then everything changed, the temperature sank drastically, just as his voice grew scarily calm.

The blonde man was grinning confidently, and while his rapier bustling with lightning magic looked powerful enough, especially in addition to the rain, there was something about Shouto's sudden change in demeanour that made her worried about the stranger.

The copious amount of magic he began releasing in that instant made her natural instinct scream at her to get up and run, run as far as possible, but she was so shocked that she felt glued to the ground.

His right fist clenched tightly, so tightly that she spotted a drop of crimson drip from it among the rain.

The blonde stranger settled into a fencing stance, and in an expert fashion he charged at Shouto. Except that he never had a chance.

The ground was covered in a thick layer of ice in a split second, and while the blonde managed to keep his equilibrium, he stumbled once the ice suddenly melted underneath his feet again.

With shocked, wide eyes, he looked up at Shouto, whose entire left side was aflame now.

The forest would probably be burning down right now if it weren't drenched.

"I asked you a question: Do you actually think you can defeat me?" Shouto repeated menacingly.

His flames grew further and further, unaffected by the rain growing heavier.

"I'll never know if I never try!" The blonde man suddenly cried out loudly, charging the surrounding raindrops with electricity. "Behold… my special attack!"

The lightning crackled and buzzed threateningly, but Shouto remained unfazed. The blonde concentrated his magic into this one attack, and with a surge a frightening amount of electricity travelled over the streams of rain, shooting right at Shouto.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" He growled, before flicking his wrist and creating an ice wall that effectively interrupted the flow of electricity.

"Maybe you're the stupid one here." Shouto continued with a cold voice. "Just earlier you said that my group of friends is not strong enough to defeat me, and yet you think you are? Did you also just forget that ice is a poor conductor?"

The blonde man staggered slightly, seemingly confused.

Tsuyu gulped as she watched Shouto melt the ice, and then his flames shrunk until they disappeared, making the moon peeking through rain clouds the primary source of light again.

What just happened?

* * *

 **AN: I rewrote this chapter from scratch like three times. FML.**

 **Okay, first, let me mention how fucking amazing all of you are! I don't think I've ever had a story that got so many reviews in such a short period of time!**

 **Not to mention that some of you may as well go call yourselves Sherlock fucking Holmes for figuring out that it was Kaminari and Momo. Those who didn't, don't feel bad, it only confirms that I didn't make it all too obvious.**

 **Secondly, I suck at writing Deku, so I made Tsuyu the one to converse with Todoroki, just because I feel like I can grasp her personality better. Unfortunately, this makes everything seem very TsuyuxTodoroki. (But don't worry!)**

 **Thirdly, the fated encounter is next chapter (ft. Bakugou on a motherfucking dragon + exasperated Momo and Kirishima).**

 **~Emi**


	6. Chance Encounters

**AN: Some quick replies to reviews that might interest some of you.**

 **Guest: I can't be the only one who notices the similarities between Momo's quirk and alchemy, right? And yes, I'm a very big FMA fan.**

 **vietnamese guy: Not everyone from 1-A will be in this, I mentioned this in an earlier chapter already. Handling a cast that big is kinda tough, and I haven't even touched upon the essential Evil Overlord yet. Additionally, I already have enough trouble coming up with backgrounds for all the characters I introduced so far, so check the list in chapter five for further details.**

 **Thank you to everybody for your kind words!**

* * *

 _ **VI. Chance Encounters**_

Tsuyu still felt the adrenaline rushing through her veins once things calmed down.

"Tch, I guess that's the downside of lightning magic. What a double-edged sword." Shouto remarked as he waved his hand in front of the unresponsive blonde man's face.

"Who is that?" Tsuyu managed to ask after snapping out of her stunned silence.

"Denki Kaminari, a well-known bounty hunter from the capitol." He answered curtly, refusing eye contact with her.

Tsuyu gulped, glancing back at the man. "Is what he said true… about who you are?"

Shouto didn't say anything for a while. "…yes." His head hung lowly, almost shamefully.

She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but what should she say? She definitely didn't understand his motives, or how she was supposed to deal with the prince of her country, a prince she's never seen before.

King Enji was praised as a great king, but everybody knew about the tough lives the princess and prince led. Great king or not aside, the bitterness in Shouto's voice as he spoke about his father was not something that sat well with her.

"You should've told us." Was the first thing she finally got out of her mouth. "We… we're your friends, right?"

Shouto fists trembled at his side. "Does it make a difference?" His voice was low, more of a rasp than an actual sentence.

Tsuyu stilled. Did it make a difference? Well, of course it did… right? Oh…

"Would you have treated me differently knowing I was a prince?" He continued.

Tsuyu couldn't answer. She probably would have.

He inhaled sharply, his gaze falling back on the unconscious blonde. "Let's not think about that right now, we have more pressing matters on our hands."

She wasn't stupid, she knew that he was purposely changing the subject. And, probably for the first time, she welcomed it.

"You said his name was Kaminari, right?" She asked tentatively, trying to ignore the heavy atmosphere between them.

"Yeah." He breathed out.

"Back at the inn I used to work at, there were always quite a few palace guards from the capitol. They had family in the village." She said confidently, hoping it wouldn't create the wrong impression with him. The palace is probably not something she should be mentioning.

His eyes narrowed slightly at her, but he let her continue.

A deep breath. "They said that some kid named Kaminari would always lose some of his memories after over-using his magic. Something along the line of 'frying his brains'."

"That'd be awfully convenient." He remarked sceptically, his mismatched eyes flicking from her to the unmoving body at their feet. He seemed to catch on to her trail of thoughts.

"And sometimes the goddess of fate gives you a lucky break, right?" She replied, not meeting his eyes.

"She's never been very kind to me. Why start now?" The painful honesty in his voice made her feel somewhat sick, but she kept it under control.

"She has to start at some point, right? Do you have a better idea?"

At that, he averted his gaze. Evidently, he didn't.

But she also had to admit that her idea wasn't that grand, either. With a soft sigh, she turned the blonde onto his back. He was taller and heavier than her, which was definitely not helping.

"We're really doing this, huh?" Shouto grimaced before bending down to help her. "Well, it's not as if we haven't committed enough criminal acts already."

The corner of her lip tugged up at his attempt at humour, but it wasn't enough to even out the heavy air between them.

Together, they dragged the unconscious bounty hunter through the forest, realizing they were a bit further away from the campsite than they thought.

"I hope you thought this through further than I did." He grunted at some point as he pushed more stray branches aside.

She gulped. Not really, actually. "Depending on how much of his memory he lost, we might be able to convince him that he was on a completely different mission. That's all I've got."

He huffed in confirmation. Then he suddenly stopped walking. "What do we tell the others?"

It finally dawned on her. They were conspiring against their group of friends. "I… I don't know yet."

She doubted he'd be willing to tell them the truth just yet, and on the off-chance that Kaminari actually remembered everything, they would, simply put, be screwed.

There were too many flaws in this plan.

"We… we could tell them that I found an unconscious man during a midnight stroll. You wouldn't have to get involved." Once again, he failed to meet her eyes. "It's my fault he's here in the first place, after all."

Ah, there he was, blaming himself again. But his idea wasn't completely without potential. "I'll let you say that, on two conditions." She answered, steeling herself.

His eyes finally met hers, and with all the courage she could muster, she held his gaze. "I'll let you do that, if you acknowledge that this isn't your fault."

His eyes widened a fraction of an inch. "Wh- but it is."

She shook her head. "It's not. He chose to come here on his own accord, right? Did you force him to? No! So it's not your fault! It's solely his own."

He stared at her in shock, as if he never considered that possibility.

"Additionally, I want you to…" She took a deep breath. "I want you to tell the others. You don't have to do it tomorrow, or the day after, but one day, I want you to trust us enough to tell us about your past."

Silence sat between them for agonizingly long seconds, and Tsuyu began to worry that she might have demanded too much. Trust issues weren't just cured overnight, after all. Just as she began to consider taking back her words, he spoke up.

"I'm sorry… I…" His hand clenched the fabric of his tunic. "I've been awfully selfish, haven't I?"

It wasn't what she was expecting, but Tsuyu could only feel relief wash over her at his words. "It's alright. Sometimes, you have to be selfish in life, other times we have to be selfless. There's no manual telling us when we should do what, so it's alright to make mistakes."

He chuckled lightly, even if it sounded rather strained. "Where did you pick up wisdoms like that?"

"There were many travelling monks and scholars who stayed at our inn." She offered a small smile in response.

"Alright." He didn't need to say anymore. The awkward, thick atmosphere was slowly dissolving.

Maybe it was finally time that the goddess of fate gave him a break.

* * *

The sun was shining brightly the next morning, making for the perfect scenario for Shouto to tell the others about the strange man he found in the woods. They looked up to him as if he was some sort of hero, when he had only stretched the truth quite a bit.

Iida had even patted him on the shoulder approvingly, wiping a tear out of the corner of his eye.

His insomnia was no news to any of them, and when the blonde awoke with nearly no memories of the past four weeks, he couldn't have thanked the gods more.

Midoriya had smiled at Kaminari, and with a friendly "The more the merrier.", he was cooped up into their little travelling group.

The blonde man was boisterous, telling the others about his heroic tales in the capitol, not sparing Shouto any second thought. Even after hearing that both Ashido and Jirou used to be thieves he didn't waver, instead offering to put in a good word for them if they needed jobs after straightening out their lives.

Honestly, he was just a blubbering idiot.

This merely confirmed his suspicion that his father publically pointed out what his son looked like, and that with no recollection of the event, Kaminari would not remember who he was. They had never met, after all.

It was all awfully convenient.

The thought kept circling in his thoughts. Tsuyu kept his secret well, merely casting the occasional curious glance in his direction, something he could hardly blame her for.

As planned, they reached the Western boarders in no time, and as suspected, there were hardly any patrols in the area.

Just like their various prison breaks, everything was going just a bit too smoothly.

* * *

He was just waiting for Karma to demand a refund. But even when you expect something, it'll come as a surprise.

And the circle of villagers on their knees begging them for their assistance was quite the surprise.

After crossing over the border, things had been calm enough. They passed through some poorly cared for wheat fields, alluding to the agricultural difficulties here.

The displeasure on Uraraka's face told just how much it hurt her to see them in such a sorry state. "If our fields back home looked like this…" She shook her head sadly. It was clear that she wanted to do something about it.

Midoriya was the one who brought it up, surprisingly enough. His usual smile was gone, and with a soft voice, he asked whether they could talk to some villagers.

The group silently agreed. The difference between the Southern Kingdom's farms and fields and the ones here was just too large to ignore.

The village was run-down, barely standing. It looked more like a ghost town than anything else. They were greeted by thin, malnourished villagers, who were only few in numbers.

An unpleasant feeling settled in Shouto's stomach as he concluded exactly what happened here. It was much worse than the rumours allowed him to imagine.

"Where are you from?" An older man asked them, a heavy accent lacing his voice.

"We're from the Southern Kingdom." Shouto answered absentmindedly, still taking in the obvious poverty the people here lived in.

 _She wouldn't have let this happen. If she were still here... she wouldn't have let this happen._

He pushed that thought away as quickly as it came.

The old man frowned. "Why would you prosperous youngsters come to this hellhole?"

Shouto felt a lump in his throat. That was no way you should feel you should talk about your home country. As much as he hated his father and the capitol, he still loved the Southern Kingdom.

"We're searching for something." Midoriya continued. "We think it's here."

"I highly doubt that." The old man huffed. "There ain't nothing here but sickness and monsters."

Midoriya seemed to straighten at that. "Monsters?" He repeated rapidly, nearly stumbling over the syllables.

The old man sighed and pulled out a pipe from his jacket pocket. He glanced at it, noting there was no tobacco in it and put away again. "Them damn dragons. They dry up our wells and burn down our fields."

His eyes went towards the distant forest, an angry light burning in them. "And the good ol' king ain't doing anything about it either."

Shouto froze, and suddenly he was transported back to _that_ day, in the throne room, opposite of his father.

" _Apparently they've been having some… issues with the magical beasts in their country. They were hoping we would aid them, but I denied that request. Do you know why?" His father's cold voice echoed in the grand room._

A soft choke broke the silence. Uraraka had buried her face in her hands, muttering quiet apologies. A woman from the village held out a handkerchief, which Uraraka only reluctantly accepted.

Jirou and Ashido had their heads lowered to the ground, unsure of where to look. Tsuyu and Iida were tending to Uraraka, who probably displayed their mutual feelings of frustration the best. Even Kaminari was speechless.

But Shouto wasn't just frustrated, or speechless.

 _Young Shouto felt bile rise up his throat at the sound of the next words that spilled out of his own mouth. "Because they are weak."_

 _His father nodded. "Many say that the King of the West is a kind king, but a kind king is a weak king. A king must work hard and relentless for his power and bear the responsibilities that come with it. A king achieves and is rewarded rightfully. That is the kind of king you will become, Shouto."_

No, no, nononononononono. This wasn't the work of a king who meant well for his people.

 _His younger self remained silent, not knowing what to say._

When spoken, those words were logical, and logic was good. But when applied, everything became ten times darker. Because weak people grew desperate, and desperate people were hasty to act.

In the back of his mind, he took notice of Midoriya speaking to the old man, but he couldn't make out the words.

He was too preoccupied with the memory of the conversation between his younger self and his father.

" _I have received word from the King of the West, informing me of the development of his… problem. It seems he has offered his daughter as a sacrifice to the beast elders in the hopes of appeasing them."_

He remembered forgetting how to breathe. He remembered his thoughts trailing to the bright young girl he had the pleasure of meeting. He remembered the sinking realization that he'd never see her again.

He remembered the broken castle, the disappearance of the only trace that she had ever existed.

Her eyes would never shine again. Like his mother's.

" _It seems you understand the situation, Shouto." His father rose out of his throne and walked across the room, stopping in front of him. "Because he was weak, he had to sacrifice something precious to him. Not to mention that the girl had a lot of potential."_

 _There was a pause, in which the weight of the situation sank deeper and deeper on to his younger self._

" _You wouldn't want something like that to happen to Fuyumi, now would you?" His father's final words broke the straw._

 _It was a dirty, detestable move, but it did what it was supposed to._

 _Shouto gulped, lowering his head in his father's presence._

" _No, father."_

* * *

"Hey, Shouto." Midoriya's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He blinked, realizing his eyes were beginning to grow moist at the haunting memories.

"Y-Yeah?" He answered quickly.

"You alright?" Midoriya's eyebrows sank into a frown.

Shouto inhaled sharply. "Yes, sorry, I just…" He trailed off, unsure of how to put his thoughts into coherent words.

Midoriya gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder. "It's alright. None of us really know how to deal with this."

"Young man." One of the women spoke up, approaching Iida. "That's quite some sword you have there."

Iida looked at her, eyes growing wide. "Yes, I'm from a family of paladins. We take pride in our skills." He spoke softly.

"I see." The woman smiled sadly. "It pains me to do this, but…" She slowly sank to the ground, the rest of the villagers following suite.

"We beg of you, help us. We don't have the means to fight the dragons, we're nothing but mere farmers, not fighters. But you, you have weapons, weapons that can touch those ghastly beasts."

Shouto stared at the villagers. He owed it to them. If, all those years ago, he had spoken up, nothing would have changed. But in the corner of his mind, he'd like to think that he might've been able to prevent their misery.

 _To prevent her death_.

"Of course we'll help you." It wasn't Shouto who spoke. It was Midoriya. Determination burned in his wide green eyes. "We won't let you suffer anymore."

He gave them a smile that brought back some light into their dreary lives. He inspired hope in them. Shouto complied.

Midoriya made him want to believe that they could do this.

* * *

There was no way they could to this.

The entire group stared up in disbelief.

"You have got to be kidding me…" Jirou muttered. Ashido just stiffly nodded in agreement.

"Is that… a dragon?" Uraraka asked the question on everybody's minds.

Shouto was still occupied gawking at the majestic, crimson magical beast. It _was_ a dragon. And a very, very big one too.

"Nobody move." Iida whispered, hardly audible, but everybody had frozen up on instinct already anyways.

"How come we didn't see it earlier?" Midoriya hissed in frustration. Shouto could only ask himself the same thing. How _did_ they miss the gigantic reptile?

"Somebody's using magic around here, but I can't determine from where or what kind." The brunette mage of their group determined after a few seconds.

"A cloaking spell of that size is crazy, Uraraka!" Ashido whisper-yelled in her direction.

"I don't know, maybe stuff like this is normal here!" Said mage retorted with a hushed voice and minimal movement.

"I doubt its normal anywhere. The other kingdoms would've already thrown a fit if one of them had magic reserves this large." Midoriya mentioned, bringing up a very valid point.

Suddenly, the dragon let out an ear-drum shattering roar, breaking all of them out of their discussion.

"Dammit, everybody run! Run for your lives!" Jirou screamed, grabbing Kaminari and Ashido by their collars and breaking into a sprint.

The rest scrambled after her without any second thoughts, their own survival their biggest priority at that moment.

The trees blurred past them as they ran through the forest, driving their stamina to its limit.

And then, two cloaked, masked figures appeared before them, stopping them in their path.

Jirou came to a sudden halt, causing Ashido and Kaminari to stumble, and all-in-all distort the group's pace.

Uraraka tripped over Iida's foot, falling face-first into the dirt.

Behind them, the tell-tale stomps marked the approaching dragon, and in front of them two masked hunters were blocking the way.

"Run, while you have the chance to!" Iida shouted at the two strangers, but they didn't waver. Behind the masks, Shouto could make out tufts of bright red hair on the male one' head. The other, a female, presumably, sported a long, flowy black ponytail.

Their lines of sight connected with the dragon, and the black-haired one pulled out a sword, to which the redhead responded by trying to stop her.

"Don't." He said quickly.

The black-haired girl kept her grip on the sword firm, not complying to the male's word.

"Put the sword away." The redhead repeated. "Losing your cool isn't manly."

A soft huff sounded in response, with which the black-haired hunter lowered her weapon.

The male hunter let out a long sigh, seemingly relieved.

"You're not going to take on that beast, are you?!" Kaminari exclaimed in panic, one hand frantically gesturing towards the dragon.

The black-haired hunter looked down at the blonde. "We're not taking the dragon on. It's the idiot riding it that we have to deal with." A smooth female voice spoke.

"You don't have to phrase it like that, y'know?" The redhead commented, slight exasperation to his tone.

"This isn't the time for an idle chat, let's get going!" Ashido exclaimed, grabbing Jirou's and Tsuyu's hands.

"There's no need for you to run away." The female hunter explained firmly. "Plodo isn't dangerous."

"Plodo?" Shouto finally managed to speak as well.

"The dragon, Plodo." The redhead supplied, but still left the group confused.

The large crimson beast was storming towards them, and with a sigh the female walked through their group and pulled out a whistle from below her cloak. She blew into it, creating a deafening high-pitched tone that immediately got the dragon to halt its movements.

"GODDAMNIT, PONYTAIL! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" An enraged voice shouted from above them.

The group looked towards the dragon, and there, as a small fleck on its head, there was a hampering figure, throwing around curses left and right.

"I'm doing your job." She huffed with an accusatory tone. The other hunter, or were they even hunters, walked up to her side.

"Come here, Plodo." He held out his arms as he gestured the dragon to come towards him, and like a puppy, the giant reptile complied, eagerly approaching him and slobbering him off in greeting before dropping to the ground, causing a miniature earthquake around them.

Unfazed by being covered in dragon saliva, he turned back to the group of adventurers.

"So, um, I think we got off on the wrong foot there. You see, we're from the Dragoon tribe, and you're in our territory, so we came to greet you. It's standard procedure." The redhead explained.

"We need to be sure of your intentions before letting you continue through these forests." The female dragoon added in a reassuring tone.

"Oh, er, of course." Shouto stuttered. He nudged Midoriya, the only one who actually knew where they were headed.

"W-We're headed to the Great Caves past the Ice Lakes!" The green-haired boy said just a bit too forcefully.

In the second he finished his sentence, a tip of a sword was mere centimetres away from his jugular artery. The female dragoon had taken up a hostile stance, her blade glinting in the rays of sunlight that fell through the crowns of the trees.

"You have ten seconds to explain your intentions there, otherwise none of you leave this forest alive." She demanded in an ice-cold voice, the wafts of friendliness from a few seconds ago completely gone.

* * *

 **AN: Let's just pretend I didn't totally write myself into a corner last chapter, a corner which took me two weeks to figure out how to get out of. (Inspiration came to me while peeling apples of all things.)**

 **Leave a review if you liked it, until next time,**

 **~Emi**


	7. The Distrust On Your Tongue

_**VII. The Distrust On Your Tongue**_

Her cold demeanour froze all the blood in his veins. Izuku started breathing heavily and erratically as he looked at the tip of the blade at his throat.

In the far distance, drowned out by the sound of his own heartbeat resonating in his mind, he could hear her slowly counting down.

 _SAY SOMETHING!_ His mind screamed, but his mouth could hardly form any words.

"L-Legendary Sword!" He blurted out before she reached zero.

She stopped her countdown, her mask hiding any facial expression she might have been making.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, PONYTAIL BITCH?!"

The tense atmosphere was single-handedly shattered by the appearance of a loud blonde teen. Unlike the other two, he didn't wear a cloak nor a mask, showing off his tribal markings. The female dragoon sighed audibly, then lowered her sword.

Izuku fell forwards onto his knees, not realizing how weak they had become within the last few seconds. For a moment there, he actually thought he was going to die before he could fulfil his promise.

He couldn't quite make out the words that passed between the newcomer and the girl, all he heard was obnoxious shouting and the occasional insult, none of which seemed to faze the girl's calm air.

"Deku! Deku!" Small hands packed his shoulders, violently shaking him. He looked up, coming face-to-face with Uraraka. Her big eyes were wide with worry, tears peeking out from the corners. "It's alright! We're safe for now!"

Her comforting words brought him back to reality, just in time to catch the blonde throw a row of curses at the girl that made him feel genuinely uncomfortable. Should he really be talking to a girl like that?

"Well, now that that's taken care of…" The red-haired dragoon interrupted them with a loud, awkward cough. "…I think we should give our guests a proper welcome instead of trying to kill them" He gave the girl what Izuku could only assume was supposed to be a pointed look. "Or turning them into dragon food." His gaze landed on the foul-mouthed blonde.

He redirected his attention to Izuku. "I hope you can understand, we get all sorts of shady people around here. I'm afraid Momo doesn't trust people easily."

Izuku nodded mutely, which the redhead took as a sign to continue. "We'd like to invite you to stay in our settlement if you're actually planning to cross the Ice Lakes. It's no easy task."

The group gave each other wary glances, and just as it looked like Shouto and Iida were about to decline, the angry blonde stepped in front of them. "BASTARDS! ARE YOU NOT GONNA ACCEPT OUR HOSPITALITY?!"

The group shrank back before eagerly nodding and fearfully accepting their invitations, to which the blonde nodded with a satisfied grunt.

* * *

"We have got to stop him from always doing that." Momo remarked, mentally exhausted by Bakugou's antics.

"The day we manage that is the day the world ends." Kirishima replied with a sigh.

* * *

The tribe members welcomed them with practised smiles and gestures, but there was no doubt that they were playing the waiting game.

They were lead to small huts with a few beds to each, and while they could hardly wait to finally sleep on soft beds again, the distrust in the air was just a bit too obvious.

"If you don't mind, our chief advisor would like to speak with some of you later." The redhead informed them in a friendly manner as they set their baggage down.

Midoriya nodded. "That wouldn't be a problem."

Shouto stepped out of the hut, his eyes landing on the large shapes in the distance.

Once again, something didn't add up.

The villagers spoke of violent dragons that destroyed their crops and supplies, but these dragons were majestic, calm and most importantly, peaceful.

In fact, they seemed to laze around for most of the day.

The group headed into the forest the villagers pointed towards, but they only ran into a dragoon patrol.

The next thing was their hostility towards them.

The black-haired girl obviously reacted to what Midoriya had said, something about it putting her on edge.

It didn't sit right with him. While the rambunctious blonde seemed angry and insulted everything around him, there was no direct hostility directed at them.

The dragoons seemed more worried about their intentions here.

The female dragoon from before walked past them, slipping her mask off her face, paying them no further attention.

Her long ponytail caught the sunlight, its pitch-black colour stirring something within him.

"Hey, Shouto, come in here for a second." Midoriya called out to him, making him redirect his attention.

He entered the hut again, taking in Midoriya's serious face. Iida shared that expression.

"We need to make a contingency plan." The paladin said with a low voice. "We have no way of predicting how things will go once you've spoken to the chief advisor. It's probably up to him whether the chief allows us to stay or not."

Shouto agreed. "So, what do you have in mind?"

* * *

Momo walked past the visitors in long strides, pointedly avoiding eye-contact with any of them. Kirishima had given her a confused glance while Bakugou told her to get lost, which roughly translated to 'hurry up and come back, I don't want to take care of Plodo by myself.'

She sighed as she closed in on the hut in the outskirts of the village. Curse her master for being such a hermit.

The door was shut tightly as always, and in a practiced motion she created a lock pick, gently turning it in the keyhole until she heard the distinctive click.

With a forceful push, the door gave in, flooding the dark room with sunlight. She coughed once the stuffy air from inside entered her lungs, causing her to step out again to catch her breath.

She should seriously check on him more often, just to make sure he hasn't suffocated yet. With a stronger push, she opened the door all the way, creating more space for the bad air to flow out.

Pulling a corner of her cloak in front of her mouth and nose, she stepped over the clatter of objects on the floor until she found the curtains on the other side of the hut.

A yank later the room was filled with light, probably for the first time in weeks. More specifically, since the last time somebody had trespassed their territory and she had come to see him.

In the middle of the chaotic mess was her master's trademark eye-soaring mustard yellow sleeping bag.

She knelt down, gently shaking him awake. "Master Aizawa… Master Aizawa, can you hear me?"

The bulge in the sleeping bag stirred. "If this is about whether you can kill Bakugou, go ask his parents for permission." A sleepy voice muttered.

"That's not it, Master." Momo deadpanned in response.

He yawned audibly. "You don't need my permission to kill trespassers."

She let out a frustrated sigh. "That's not it either, Master."

He finally moved, turning around in his yellow cocoon. "What happened?" Blood-shot eyes examined her.

"Trespassers. I want you to talk to them." She answered curtly.

His eyes narrowed at her. "You hesitated."

Momo's shoulders slumped. "Is it that obvious?"

A messy mop of black hair rose from the sleeping bag. "It is. Now tell me why you hesitated."

Momo clenched and unclenched her fist. "They… They claim to be looking for the legendary sword. They don't seem to be lying."

Aizawa put a thoughtful finger to his chin. "The legendary sword? I haven't heard that one in a long time. Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"There's something else, isn't there?" He asked her after a few seconds of silence.

She faced the ground, unsure of how to put her thoughts into words. "It's nothing." She finally said, eyes downcast.

She made a move to stand up, but her master put a hand on her shoulder in order to keep her in place. "You've been in my care for the past nine years, don't you think I would notice when you're trying to hide something from me?"

Momo tensed up. "One of them… I've met him before, I'm sure of it."

"Before…? You mean…"

She nodded before he finished his sentence. "I'm sure that the one with the white and red hair is the Prince Of The Southern Kingdom."

* * *

Kirishima was helping out one of the cooks when Aizawa suddenly stormed past him. He blinked in surprise as the usually slouchy man disappeared around the corner, followed by a frantic looking Momo.

"Momo, what's going on?" He asked her before she could follow her mentor.

"He's not thinking this through, I'll explain it later, okay?" She answered hastily, breaking into a sprint.

He watched her skid around the corner as well.

"What's up with them?" Setsumi, the village herbalist, shared his expression of surprise.

The Dragoon tribe valued patience and thought, and while Bakugou was an obvious anomaly, life here was usually quiet and peaceful.

Just as Aizawa was usually busy sleeping.

Kirishima rubbed the back of his head. "Dunno, probably has something to do with the guests."

The old woman nodded understandingly. "It is unusual that you bring any back. Usually you dispose of them right away."

He chuckled, picking another carrot out of the basket in front of him and peeling it. "Well, the kid survived Momo's countdown, and lived long enough to hear Bakugou insult him, so it doesn't hurt to see how things are on the outside, y'know."

She nodded once more. "It has been quite some time since we've had living guests here. It's such a shame the last ones met an untimely fate." Her voice grew colder at the mention of the men who they brought back last time.

"Some people make bad life decisions and end up paying for it." He shrugged, taking the next carrot.

"I guess so." Setsumi picked up an onion. "It's still a shame."

* * *

"Master!" Momo called after him, but he was faster than her, despite not having moved in the past few weeks. "Master, please wait!"

His shadowy form flitted in front of her, always out of her reach. She groaned in annoyance, pulling a throwing spear out of her left arm.

With a deep breath, running quick calculations in her mind, she took up a stance and threw it with all her might.

It didn't hit her master, but still managed to block his path just long enough to make him turn around.

"Master, please think this through!" She called out to him while running towards him. "You can't just approach him like this."

Her mentor finally stood still. "I can, as chief advisor of this settlement."

She sighed. "That's not what I meant."

"Momo, these past few seconds have been enough for me to think things through. If he is really what you say he is, then I need to clarify his intentions here immediately." His blood-shot eyes narrowed dangerously, and she couldn't help but agree with him.

"I know that, but please change into your robes first, Master. You are representing the entire tribe." Momo bowed diligently, hoping her master would finally realize that we was still wearing his sleepwear.

His fear-inducing expression morphed into a blank slate after he glanced at his clothes, and without further protest he went back to his hut.

Momo sighed in exasperation. Seriously, what was she, the village nanny?

* * *

"We hardly know anything about the forest trails around here." Midoriya mumbled while he made a rough sketch of the surroundings. "There's the trail we entered the settlement through, but I saw that there were at least five more."

Iida tapped his fingers on the table. "We're at a clear disadvantage here. That's probably why they insisted on us coming here, so that they can keep a better eye on us."

Shouto leaned back into his chair, rubbing his aching temples. "You can't blame them. It's a valid tactic. I would do the same in their position."

Midoriya began chewing on his thumb nail. "Speaking of that, we need to figure out why we're even still alive. I was pretty sure that girl would have killed us all."

"Didn't the loud blonde guy stop her?" Kaminari asked.

"I don't think that's what was going on." Midoriya grumbled. "It seemed more like he was asking her what was taking her so long. And thinking back to their team structure, I'm pretty sure that she was the one calling the shots. If she wanted us dead, then we'd be dead."

"Maybe she fell for my dashingly handsome face." Kaminari joked, striking a pose.

"I highly doubt that." Shouto commented off-handedly, mind occupied with their current situation.

"Don't be such a kill-joy, let a guy dream." Kaminari groaned.

Shouto ignored him, reminding himself to be wary about what he said around Kaminari, on the off-chance that he might remember some things that better lay forgotten.

A knock sounded on the door, pulling the four of them out of their thoughts. Shouto stood up to get the door while Midoriya quickly rolled up their scroll and hid it amongst their belongings.

Upon opening the door, he was greeted by an intricate wooden mask.

"Can I help you?" He asked somewhat tentatively, taking in the person's appearance. Aside from the carved mask, the person obscured the rest of their body in a flowy, dark robe.

"I am the chief advisor." A monotone voice answered. "I hope you don't mind answering a few questions."

"Ah, yes, we were told about this." Shouto bowed respectfully. "Do you wish to speak to all of us, or just some of us?"

"Just you will do." The cloaked figure replied almost immediately, throwing Shouto off.

"If you say so." He complied with a frown, following the figure after closing the door behind himself. Going against their orders would probably be the worst option right now.

He was lead through a section of the forest, and Shouto made sure to remember it for later reference. Depending on where they were going, it might prove useful later on.

After what felt like an eternity avoiding branches and twigs, his eyes were met with a beautiful clearing by a lake, bathed in the evening sun.

"Take a seat here." The masked man gestured to some furniture by the lake shore.

Shouto nodded, sitting down opposite of the man. His gaze lingered on the clear blue water. There was something enthralling about it.

"You must be wondering why we are so far out of the village." The chief advisor began. "I will keep the explanation short and simple. This is the Lake Of Truth. All in the presence of these waters or not capable of lying."

Shouto gasped, taking another look at the innocent-looking water. "That's a very fearsome ability." He remarked.

"It is." The man went on. "Which is why both of us are here. Neither one of us can deceive the other, so in return for answering my questions I will answer yours to the best extent I can."

It was a reasonable offer, but Shouto knew they were only being so generous because they could kill them off at any given moment.

"Alright." He answered, hoping he would get through this well and safe. There were many ways besides lying to deceive somebody else.

"Why do you seek the legendary sword?" He expected that question, to be honest. He just hadn't come up with an answer yet.

He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

The man clicked his tongue in disapproval. "Trying to lie from the get-go? Or are you just being untruthful to yourself?"

Shouto frowned, and tried saying something else this time, but he only broke out into cough as his throat clammed up.

"You youngsters, always facing away from reality." The man sighed. "Don't think, just let your heart speak, as weird as it sounds."

Don't think? How should he not think when trying to say something?

"I'll ask again, what do you plan to do once you've received the legendary sword?"

The question was different from last time. It was subtle, but not too subtle. "I don't know." Shouto finally managed to speak.

"Is that so?" The man said to himself while Shouto was trying to figure out why he said that. True, he knew pretty much nothing about the legendary sword, at least not as much as Mido-

"How do you know about its location then?" The man asked.

"Midoriya." His vocal cords betrayed him, spilling out his name without a second thought. The man nodded mutely.

"Do you seek the fame and glory of wielding the legendary sword?"

"No." The next answer came out faster than either of the previous ones. Fame and glory were the last things he wanted.

"I can tell you are from the Southern Kingdom by your accent. Did you have any other reasons besides seeking the sword for coming here?"

This was the one of the other questions he had prepared himself for. Unfortunately, nobody told him about the lake beforehand.

His fake answer flitted through his mind, causing him to break out into another cough frenzy. As he tried to catch his breath, he saw the man waiting for his answer, almost expectantly. The lack of facial expression really only made this so much more unsettling.

"We have time." The chief advisor said calmly. "Why did you come here?"

Shouto drew in ragged breaths, each one scratching his sore throat. This was harder than he thought. "We… We were on the run…" His voice sounded raspy in his own ears. "We knew they wouldn't follow us here."

"Hmmm… anything else?"

Shouto gulped. There was one more thing. Something he had been ignoring ever since the thought occurred to him.

But here, in the presence of the all-knowing lake, nobody cared about his personal feelings or issues. "I wanted to find out what happened to her." The words spilled out. "I wanted to know… why they went through so much trouble to… publically kill her off."

He supported himself on the table, suddenly feeling immensely exhausted. It had been difficult to admit to himself, but it was always there, nagging him in the back of his mind. His laboured breathing slowed, and he couldn't help the feeling of tiredness washing down on him.

"This is not a pleasant place to be, is it?" The masked man spoke.

Shouto shook his head, drops of sweat dripping onto the table, gulping hard in a desperate attempt to get himself together.

"So tell me, Prince of the South, who is this girl you're talking about?"

Shouto looked up, shock and exhaustion written on his face. "How do you know?"

"As chief advisor, I have my way of knowing things." He wasn't lying, but he was paraphrasing the truth. "After spending so many years here, you get a good feel for what effect the waters have on you." He explained in an after-thought.

Shouto clenched his fists on the table. "If you know so much, do you know what happened to the princess of this kingdom?"

The secret was out, he might as well milk the situation.

"Yes." The man answered. "I know what happened to her."

"So you know that she died nine years ago, right?" Shouto continued before the man could say anything else. "So why did they kill off a fake over in the Southern Kingdom?"

The man remained silent for a few seconds. "A fake? What are you talking about?"

Shouto swallowed. This man didn't know? What was going on?

Sweat trickled down the side of his face. He had to think around this, how could he formulate the truth without revealing everything?

If he had information they didn't have, it'd suddenly become of value. It'd secure their survival for now.

His throat felt dry, and he bit down on his tongue before he spilled anything else.

He needed to adept to these conditions as fast as possible.

* * *

 **AN: I really like the idea of Dadzawa, so let me be. More on that in one of the future chapters ;)**

 ** **Sorry for the lack of tdmm interaction, but I did warn you that this was going to be a long ride.****

 **I also started cross-posting this on AO3, if anybody's interested.**

 **~Emi**


	8. Game Of Deception

_**VIII. Game Of Deception**_

Shouto began to taste the blood pooling in his mouth, but he needed to do this. Think, think, think.

"I can tell you're trying to fight the water. However, you lack the resolve to pull through." The masked man remarked after a few seconds of silence. "Before you attempt to deceive others, you must stop deceiving yourself."

Shouto's eyebrows furrowed, but he still clamped down on his tongue. Whatever he said next would decide who would win or lose this battle of words.

"Tell you what, Your Highness." The man said monotonously, yet still mockingly. "You tell me what's going on in your kingdom, and your little group might actually live to try and find the legendary sword. Right now, it's up to you whether you all live or die."

Ah, there it was, the truth. He could speak, as long as he said the truth. Sweat dripped onto the table surface. The truth, and nothing but the truth, huh? What a double-edged sword.

"In other words, the one that recognized me was one of the three Dragoons that brought us here, right?" His voice sounded hoarse, and he could kill for a glass of water right now, but there were more important matters at hand.

"Changing the subject now, are we?" The chief advisor waved his hand dismissively. "Maybe I'll answer that question if you answer mine."

Shouto gulped. One wrong move, and they'd all be dead. Probably served as dragon slob, with the crazy blonde kid doing some sort of ritual dance around their corpses.

"Swear on your life, and I'll swear on mine." He pushed out between gritted teeth. It was time to bet everything he had. He failed to save somebody once before, he wasn't going to let that happen again, not if he had the power to stop it this time.

"Honestly, I don't know if you're just stupid and desperate or whether you actually have an ace up your sleeve." The man sighed audibly. "But since you're saying this even though you know that you're at a disadvantage here, I'll play your silly game with you. I swear on my life."

Shouto fought hard to keep his mouth shut. The man's tone was lacklustre and downright demotivating, but he wasn't lying. Now, how much should he really reveal about what happened without losing the upper hand?

"A few days ago, somebody made a big deal out of the Princess of The West visiting a village near the borders. Word spread fast enough for a pair of assassins to ambush the carriage and kill both the alleged princess and her companion."

The man stayed silent, only tapping his fingers on the table surface in agonizingly slow movements. "I see." He eventually answered.

"My turn. What happened to the Princess?"

"She's still alive."

Shouto didn't know whether to feel relieved or not, but the man didn't give him a lot of time to sit on his thoughts.

"What do you make out of the situation, your highness?" The man pressed on. His hunched posture conveyed that he was relaxed and uncaring, but the circles his finger drew on the table told him otherwise.

"I'd say that there is a third party on the move, which brings me to my next question. Do your dragons take pleasure in burning down villages?"

The chief advisor's finger stopped moving, just as his shoulders sunk even lower, resembling an animal ready to pounce on its prey. "Excuse me?" His voice was low, akin to a growl.

More drops of sweat formed on Shouto's forehead, beading their way down his soaked face. "I think you heard me perfectly fine the first time."

"Oh really? Because it sounded like you were accusing us of something atrocious." The man's voice held a dangerous edge, increasing Shouto's nervousness.

Mustering up all the courage he had, Shouto pushed it aside and continued. "I'll take that as a no then. However, that brings up the issue that somebody is attacking nearby villages with dragons, drying up their wells and burning their fields to the ground. Somebody wants you to become the primary suspects."

The man resumed his tapping. "And you think it's the same party who staged the assassination in your kingdom?"

"Yes." Shouto nodded, relieved to see the man decrease his hostility towards him.

The chief advisor sunk into his own thoughts for a few seconds, then stopped his tapping again. "You're lucky your information was of value, kid. We'll let you stay here until your group is ready for continuing your journey, and we'll promise to keep you safe."

His body moved to stand up, but Shouto slammed his hand on the table to stop him. "Wait, there's one more question you haven't answered yet."

The man tilted his head to the side, messy black locks falling over his shoulder. "Is that so?"

"Yes. One of the three Dragoons we met in the forest recognized me, that much I am sure of. And by logical conclusion, it would be the black-haired girl, am I right?"

The chief advisor straightened his posture again. "If you're so sure of what you say, why bother asking me?"

Shouto pulled his lips into a straight line. "Who is she?" He demanded, but the man only chuckled in response.

"As if I would tell you that. Now, I trust you remembered the way back to the settlement."

With those words, the man disappeared into a flurry of black, leaving Shouto behind, alone.

* * *

"Man, you look terrible." Kaminari stated blatantly, but Shouto was too exhausted to deal with him.

"What happened?" At least Iida was genuinely concerned about him.

"They have some intense interrogation tactics." Shouto replied curtly, hoping it would end the conversation. He hated having to tread carefully around his words like this, but he needed to think about what he had just been told before revealing it to anybody. Not even Tsuyu knew about his connection to the princess, but with the way things were progressing, talking about his true identity might just be inevitable.

"As expected of the dragon tamers." Iida muttered to himself.

"That's the next thing." Shouto sighed, rubbing his temples. "They are dragon tamers. All the dragons here are tame, and none of them would ever attack a defenceless village for no reason."

"They could be lying. I bet they're good at talking themselves out of trouble, especially with loose cannons like that blonde guy running around." Kaminari pointed out, and Shouto felt bad that the one time the lightning magician said something somewhat intelligent, he had to shoot it down.

"Trust me, they were telling the truth." He answered seriously.

"So we're back to square one on the attacked village thing, huh?" Midoriya grimaced. "There's got to be something we aren't seeing here."

"Do you think the others found anything out?" Iida asked into their small room, but Shouto only found himself shrugging. His gaze wandered back to Midoriya, who had sunk deep into his own thoughts once again. Should he…?

The way the man glossed over the fact that Midoriya obviously had information he shouldn't have bothered him.

"I guess we'll just have to ask them later at dinner." The green-haired boy mumbled, still preoccupied elsewhere in his mind.

"Yes, you're right." Iida agreed with him, while Kaminari merely nodded in affirmation.

* * *

Uraraka laughed at the joke one of the Dragoons just told. She seemed to get along with everybody splendidly.

Tsuyu sighed softly when she glanced over at Jirou and Ashido. The pink-haired girl was locked in a conversation with a Dragoon female about fabrics, but Jirou was just watching silently.

"Jirou, care to share your thoughts?" The frog girl asked the sound mage.

"They're awfully friendly to us, don't you think?" The purple-haired thief replied quietly. "Like, when we arrived, they were just polite, but slightly distant, but now they're outright welcoming us. Something must've happened to trigger this change in behaviour."

"Maybe they talked to the others? Since we don't have any bad intentions towards them, they might have dropped their hostility." Tsuyu offered, but Jirou just shook her head.

"You saw how that one girl almost killed Midoriya just because he mentioned a cave or something. On top of that, our secondary task is not exactly in good intention towards them either." She gently tilted her head backwards and gestured towards a slumbering dragon behind them.

Tsuyu gnawed on her bottom lip. She had a point, they still needed to solve the mystery of who attacked the surrounding villages.

"I don't think we're seeing the whole picture just yet." Tsuyu voiced her thoughts.

"I agree."

"It'll be difficult to communicate with the guys with all of them watching us." Tsuyu muttered below her breath, just loudly enough for Jirou to hear her.

"We'll try and look for an opportunity during dinner." Jirou whispered back in a rushed manner as they saw a Dragoon woman approach them.

Tsuyu nodded. They needed to find a way out of this mess.

* * *

"Yo, ungrateful bastards!" An unfortunately familiar brash voice called out to them while kicking down the door. "Food's ready, and if you waste a single grain of rice, I will hunt you down personally!"

"Now, now, Bakugou, that's no way to speak to our guests." The redhead trailing behind him chided.

"I'll talk to them however the fuck I want to, Hair-for Brains!" Bakugou snapped furiously, but Shouto figured that that was just his standard attitude.

"Come on, let's go." He sighed, standing up and following the energetic blonde. He heard the other three get up behind him and follow suite.

Iida and Kaminari fell into a conversation out lightning, causing Midoriya to catch up with Shouto.

"Did anything else happen back there?" The green-haired boy asked him quietly, concern showing through his words. "You've been a bit off since you've come back."

Shouto glanced at the distance between them and the two Dragoons in front of them. While he could still hear the blonde's obnoxious insults, he figured they wouldn't be able to hear them if they continued to speak quietly.

"Follow me." He commanded, grabbing Midoriya's upper arm and pulling him down the trail that led to the Lake Of Truth.

It was time to get some much-needed answers. Both from Midoriya and the girl trailing them in the shadows.

* * *

"Shouto, what's going on?" Izuku asked his heterochromatic friend. "What's this about?"

"I wanted to show you something I discovered just now." He answered mysteriously, leading him down a trail through the trees.

Izuku frowned while taking in his environment. "Why didn't you tell the others as well? We should be doing this as a group."

Shouto suddenly stopped walking and glanced back at him over his shoulder. "It'd be too conspicuous if we all disappeared somewhere. Just because I managed to squeeze a deal out of the chief advisor doesn't mean we need to push it."

"… squeeze a deal out of… what are you talking about, Shouto?" An uncomfortable feeling settled in Izuku's gut. A terrible thought crossed his mind. Could he… actually trust Shouto?

Sure, there were things about himself that he didn't want to talk about, and Izuku didn't want to pry, but what if, all this time, there was a traitor amongst them? Did he work for…? No, please, no…

"Information in exchange for information, Midoriya, it's as simple as that. The chief advisor was awfully cooperative once I proved to have something worth sharing. But that's not what this is about."

Izuku gulped. "It isn't? Then what…?"

Shouto came to a stop again. There was nothing of significance around them, so Izuku only felt himself grow more and more restless.

"So… what was it you wanted to show me?" Izuku chuckled nervously, glancing to his left and his right. They were completely alone.

It was difficult to meet Shouto's mismatched gaze, but Izuku still put on a shaky smile and managed to somehow.

"I don't want to show it too you just yet. Before we go there, I want to ask you some questions." Shouto answered seriously.

"Huh? Questions?" Izuku could hear the confusion in his own voice.

"Information in exchange for information."

Izuku's smile morphed into a grimace. He finally realized where this was going. "I see."

Shouto nodded solemnly. "I knew I could expect you to catch on."

"You almost sound like Iida." Izuku's attempt at a joke fell flat.

Shouto didn't react, instead he just exhaled loudly. "I'll tell you why we're still alive if you tell me how you know so much about the One For All."

Izuku felt his hand twitch by his side. Keeping this piece of information from all his newfound friends was drowning him in guilt more and more with each passing second, but he made a promise. He promised not to tell anybody, not under any circumstances.

But he wasn't the only one keeping secrets. Information in exchange for information, your secret in exchange for my secret.

Izuku felt the sweat permeating from his forehead, and he stayed silent until the first drop trickled down the side of his temple.

"I…"

"You know," Shouto suddenly directed his voice towards the trees, interrupting Izuku, "It's rude to eavesdrop on others. Didn't your parents teach you any manners?"

With a soft rustle, a figure landed among the dry leaves on the ground, long black tresses whirling behind her in the breeze.

The female Dragoon chuckled lightly. "Had they cared about me, perhaps they would have."

Izuku stared at her in shock. How… Where… Had she been there the entire time?

She wasn't wearing her mask anymore, and in the light the setting sun cast through the trees he could make out her facial features, which were currently pulled into a stern scowl.

"I'm impressed you managed to spot me, though." She continued, her voice losing the humorous edge it had a few seconds ago.

Shouto decided not to answer her question, instead remaining silent.

"I see, a magician doesn't reveal his tricks, huh?" She shrugged lightly. "I guess I can't really blame you."

Shouto's gaze lingered on her a bit longer. "I'm extending my offer to you as well." He said after an uncomfortably long moment of silence.

Her eyebrows sunk a bit lower, deepening her frown. "And just what information do you want to hear from me in return?"

"I want to know why you were ready to kill us when you first met us. I'm aware of the reason why we're still alive, and I know that the two reasons are unrelated." Shouto replied instantaneously.

She clicked her tongue. "You really want to play a game of truth and deception with me?"

"I'd like to keep the deception out of it, but yes."

"Whoa, whoa, okay, stop. What's going on here?!" Izuku pushed himself between the two of them, his eyes flitting between them.

"She has the answers to our questions, just as you have the answer to a question that is surely burning in her mind. Am I wrong?" His cold voice directed the last question to the black-haired girl.

Izuku froze at Shouto's tone. Right now, this wasn't the Shouto he knew.

"You are not wrong." The girl answered in an eerily similar tone, looking past Izuku at Shouto.

"Alright, we need to calm down, all three of us." Izuku interjected once more, trying to calm the tension that was building up between the Dragoon girl and his friend. "Why don't we start from the beginning? My name is Izuku Midoriya."

The girl spared him a side-glance, breaking off her staring contest with Shouto. "You may call me Momo."

"Shouto."

Izuku groaned internally, the tension was still thick as ever. He needed to do something to ease it up! He gulped, ignoring his hammering heartbeat. This wasn't a good time to be nervous!

"I'll go first." Izuku said with more conviction than he thought he could ever gather. He could only hope that the other two perceived it the same way. He found himself hesitating for a split second, but sometimes, you have to sacrifice one thing for another. Besides... Lord Yagi trusted these people, right?

If talking about his secret would prevent them from tearing each other's throats out, then…

It seemed to be enough to catch their attention, and with a deep breath, Izuku broke the promise he made.

"I was tasked with retrieving the One For All, and to bring it back to its rightful owner. I promised not to tell anybody."

Momo scowled at him sceptically. "It's not the first time somebody's told me that excuse."

Izuku held up his hand, praying it would be enough to stop her from taking his head at any given moment. "But I can prove it!"

She crossed her arms. "Try me."

"Toshinori Yagi told me to go to the Western Kingdom, where I should find the Dragoon settlement near the borders. He told me I'd find the legendary sword in the Great Caves past the Ice Lakes!" He rambled out in one breath, astounding even himself.

He could feel Shouto's gaze on him, but the ice mage didn't show any particular emotion in response to his words.

The girl tilted her head to the side in a contemplative manner. "If what you say is true, and Lord Yagi put you up to this, why didn't he come himself?"

Izuku's bottom lip trembled slightly, but he bit down on it. "Because he's too weak to! He suffered from a fatal injury he received while protecting a village. The evil wizards managed to overpower him, and he needs the One For All to guarantee everybody's safety!"

A tear trickled down his cheek, followed by another. He hadn't even realized he had started crying. He cast his eyes to the ground, unable to look either of them in the eye. He did it. He betrayed his hero's trust.

He hit rock-bottom. Born without magic, now betraying the one man he swore to never betray. He was worthless.

"You said you can prove it." Momo spoke, apparently unbothered by his state of emotional distress. "If what you say is true, then you have it, right?" Her voice still held scepticism, but Izuku knew what she was talking about, so he nodded while sniffling.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small pendant and held it out into her general direction.

Upon hearing her inhale sharply, he lifted his head again. She was staring at the pendant in fearful awe, watching as it suddenly began to glow when she reached out to touch it.

"It's the real thing…" She mumbled in disbelief. "This is impossible…"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Shouto was also looking at the pendant, mouth slightly agape.

Momo suddenly shook her head, then pushed the glowing pendant back into Izuku's hands.

"I'm sorry, you should have said so earlier." She said solemnly. "We get a lot of imposters, and our main priority is to protect the sword Lord Yagi left in our care." She paused, frowning in thought.

"However… there is one more thing." She continued. "You're not a Knight of the Almighty Order. Why would Lord Yagi ask a peasant boy to fulfil this quest?"

Izuku felt confusion wash over him. What was she talking about? Almighty Order?

"I can answer that question." Shouto spoke up suddenly.

Izuku whirled his head towards his friend. He noticed Momo had done so as well. "You can?" They both spoke nearly in sync.

* * *

Shouto nodded. Hearing Midoriya's story, a sinking feeling of dread settled in his stomach. It wasn't what he had expected, to be honest, but then again he didn't know what to expect of anything anymore.

Evil Wizards attacking a village in the Southern Kingdom? Lord Toshinori Yagi? The Almighty Order? It's been some time since he heard either of those terms, but it seemed his father was very skilled at glossing over events that lay in the past.

Others thought the Southern Kingdom to be a Kingdom in which even villagers could live a fulfilling live, but it was built on the foundation of a pile of messy euphemisms.

"For somebody who recognized me right away, you have very little knowledge of what's going on in the Southern Kingdom." He remarked, directing his gaze at Momo.

She straightened her posture, meeting his gaze with a poisonous glare. "Are you insulting me?"

"No." He replied honestly. "I'm not. I'm just trying to understand your role in all this."

She held her glare, not responding. He sighed, glancing back at Midoriya. It must've been emotionally taxing for him to reveal something like that.

Shouto composed himself. "I am the prince of the Southern Kingdom." His words tasted awful on his tongue, but the truth never was pleasant.

Midoriya's eyes grew wide, not unlike when Tsuyu had discovered the truth not all too long ago. Just as he expected, the black-haired girl showed no signs of surprise.

"But you already knew that, didn't you?" He didn't wait for her response. "Somehow, you recognized me, and decided not to kill us because you wanted to know what my agenda here is."

"Since you think you're so smart, why don't you tell me what you think is going on here?" Her voice was guarded, and Shouto could tell that she was back on the defensive again.

It was like a switch with her. There were moments in which she seemed like a nice person, but make one wrong step and she snapped back, creating a zone of safety around her.

Like a scared animal. But what was she so scared of?

"At first I thought you heard about my disappearance from the capitol, like Kaminari. But if that were the case, you'd know that Lord Toshinori Yagi was pronounced dead two years ago, just as the Almighty Order was dissolved and branded as traitors." He explained calmly, watching her reaction carefully.

Her charcoal eyes grew unbelieving and wide, forgetting to put on her emotional mask. Midoriya mirrored her expression.

"Kaminari?" Midoriya repeated in disbelief, making Shouto smack himself mentally. He told himself to think things through before speaking, yet here he was, rambling like a total idiot.

"I'll explain that in a moment." He added, eyes never straying from the black-haired girl.

She composed herself again, eyes flitting off to the side before returning to meet his gaze. "I assume your father was behind those events." She concluded after a few seconds.

"You assume correctly."

* * *

Momo did her best to maintain a straight face. This group of strangers had just come here, dumping a good amount of concerning information on her and her master.

Of course, one of them wasn't a complete stranger, but given the fact that he hadn't recognized her yet, he might as well be. However, that wasn't the main issue here. Whether or not he knew who she was was not of importance, the bigger problem being what said boy just told her.

Lord Toshinori Yagi had been pronounced dead, and the Almighty Order, the only order that accepted knights from the entire continent, was tarnished and gone.

According to the other boy, Lord Yagi still lived, but crippled and in need of his legendary sword, the sword he gave to the Dragoon tribe so he would never have to use it again.

All this time, while they were dawdling away in this settlement, laughing at Bakugou's antics, the world outside was shifting.

Shifting, and seemingly falling into despair. And who was the person who brought this upon them? Who was the one who pushed the first domino stone?

King Enji Todoroki, the ruler of the South? Or perhaps their very own King of the West?

* * *

 **AN: Hey, remember when this was supposed to be a fun fantasy au of dorks journeying across the continent, discovering wondrous things? Yeah, me neither.**

 ** **Your thoughts on the progress of this story are always appreciated, so don't forget to leave a review!****

 **~Emi**


	9. The Butterfly Effect

_**IX. The Butterfly Effect**_

"Where did your two fucktard friends go?" The blonde guy, Bakugou as he was introduced, spat out after leisurely plopping down into a chair at the head of the table.

Iida's face contorted with worry. "We don't know! They just disappeared!" He gestured wildly with his hands, further emphasizing his point.

Denki Kaminari payed them little attention as he stared at the empty plate in front of him. His memory was still fuzzy, and none of his belongings hinted as to why he was travelling through a forest near the Western borders. Of course, he could have just returned to the capitol, but something was telling him not to.

He accompanied this group because his gut feeling compelled him to, because it felt like he still had something to do here... something so important, that he wasn't willing to face the king until it was taken care of...

Of all things that he could remember, why did King Enji's fearsome scowl have to be one of them? He groaned quietly, running a finger across the rim of the Dragoon pottery. He wished there was some sort of way to regain his memory… the sooner the better.

Because every second, minute and hour he spent in the unknown made him feel more and more uneasy.

There was a knot in his stomach, and it wasn't because he was hungry.

* * *

It wasn't hard to see that she was upset. Very upset, actually, even if she kept it hidden behind a straight face. But after looking into a mirror every day, staring at the exact same expression, you tend to pick up on when others use it.

Despite her inner turmoil, there was a fire burning in her eyes. A fire of what, he could not tell.

"So? Are you going to tell me who you are?" He inquired after she remained silent for a bit too long.

"Your father is a despicable man. I hate him." She responded without any trace of hesitation.

"Tell me something new."

Her fist clenched by her side. "But he is still a better ruler than our sorry excuse of a king."

Shouto's lips pulled into a thin line as he thought his response over. If he said anything wrong now, she might snap at them, and it wouldn't matter if Midoriya had that special item or not. Whatever his father, as well as the King of the West did to her, it couldn't have been anything good.

"From what I've heard, I have to agree with you on that." He spoke slowly, threading on eggshells.

Momo chuckled lowly. "Oh? Do tell, boy, what you have heard."

Shouto took up eye-contact with her, but didn't say anything. If he pieced everything together correctly, she was the chief advisor's apprentice, meaning he probably already told her everything.

"I think you know already." He answered instead.

"Perhaps." She shrugged. "But does your friend here?" She lifted one arm, pointing a lazy thumb at Midoriya. "Because I highly doubt that."

"It wasn't of immediate importance, so I decided to share it later on." He replied through clenched teeth.

She was turning the tables on him, taking attention from her own origins by pointing out the obvious lack of information flow between himself and Midoriya.

"Or any of your other friends, I wonder?" She drawled on, showing her merciless side. "Trust sure is a non-existent quality nowadays."

Shouto furrowed his eyebrows further, but allowed himself a pause to think. That's all he's been doing lately, thinking, trapped in all these mind games, and falling into half of the traps. He wasn't the one with the brains, that was…

That was not important right now. He could quench his own feelings of guilt when his life and sanity were not in immediate danger.

"Don't change the subject. Who are you?" He cut in harshly, hoping to gain the upper hand again.

"You're one to talk about changing the subject. Don't worry, though. I can help you with your explanation." She snipped her fingers once, and the sound of rustling leaves coming from behind him caught Shouto's attention. Midoriya's head whipped around as well, and both sprang back when a horrifying screech filled the air.

From a pile of leaves leapt forth a blurry figure, long, dirty strands of hair covering its face, and with jagged, abrupt movements it stumbled towards the trio.

"What the hell is this?!" Shouto exclaimed in shock once the unmistakable stench of decaying flesh hit his nose.

The female figure was dressed in a muddy, western-style dress that dragged along the ground behind her. A large, black stain on her torso area marked the dried up blood that soaked into the fabric.

"I told you I'd help you with your explanation, right?" Momo answered nonchalantly, inspecting her fingernails with a small smirk.

Midoriya cast a questioning look over at him, and Shouto gulped. It took him a moment, but beneath the muddy crust on the girl's hair he could make out a warm, golden tone. Then the walking corpse looked up at them with soulless, empty sockets.

"Why don't you introduce the lovely lady to your friend?" Momo went on, her cheerful tone more appropriate for a tea party than the situation they were currently in.

Midoriya had gone pale, his hands covering his mouth as the corpse tumbled closer towards them. "Shouto, who was this person?"

"I don't know." Shouto replied honestly. He had no idea who she actually was. "However, she's the one who was killed as the western princess."

Momo clapped her hands mockingly. "Looks like we're off to a good start, now keep up that pace, good prince."

"As the princess?" Midoriya repeated in confusion. "You mean she's not the actual princess?!"

Shouto shook his head solemnly, at the same time that Momo held up her hand and the corpse came to a standstill and collapsed onto the ground.

"I don't know why, but somebody planned this to be a public event, and they made sure to attract as much attention as they could." He explained his suspicions. He sighed inwardly, since this was not exactly the best time and place to be discussing this.

"That aside," He turned towards the female dragoon. "Why do you have a necromancer in your ranks?"

She merely crossed her arms in front of herself and huffed. "That's none of your business. You should continue your explanation though, otherwise Bakugou will have finished all the meat by the time we get back."

* * *

Bakugou finished chewing his meat, then swallowed it down menacingly before standing up in a fashion that was way louder than necessary.

Tsuyu winced at the sound, but continued eating nonetheless. Despite how it looked, the Dragoon cooking was actually quite delicious, especially the side dish of roasted flies they had served her.

"You fucking bird freak!" The blonde youth shouted loudly, throwing an accusatory finger towards a dark area behind them. "What gives you the right to be late to dinner?!"

There was motion in the shadow, and with a soft swish of fabric a hooded man was suddenly standing at the table, reaching out for a ladle to take some food for himself.

"Oi, I asked you a question!" The angry blonde stomped on the ground, causing a small earthquake. Tsuyu sighed at the fact that in the few minutes she had been sitting here, she had already accustomed herself to lift her plate off the table whenever the furious boy decided to complain about something.

"You should calm yourself, good Bakugou." The hooded man relied in a deep, calm voice as he filled his plate with food. "I was merely finishing my tasks. As for the other three… They are… preoccupied, but I believe they will be joining us in due time."

Bakugou scowled at the man's response, his eyebrows sinking deeper than she had ever thought humanly possible. "Unacceptable." He growled lowly.

"If you want to pick a fight, you can always go ahead and pick one with _her_." Another newcomer replied calmly, this time a man with long, messy black hair and a mask. "After she's back." He added in an afterthought.

"Who the fuck does she think she?!" The blonde demanded angrily. The masked man sighed loudly and whacked the explosive Dragoon's wrist with a wooden fan. This only angered the youth more, but he didn't make a move to return the favour. Instead he simmered before himself in silent anger, his murderous red eyes darting across the table towards the forest in the distance.

"Calm down, Bakugou." The masked man chided him, ruffling his spiky hair as if he were cooing a dog.

This just furthered the blonde's fury, and he erupted like a volcano. "Oh yeah, right, let the crazy assassin girl do what she wants, got it." Bakugou drawled mockingly, crossing his arms in front of his abdomen. "If she just ends up fighting them, why can't I? We both know that she'll just end up killing them."

Tsuyu felt a knot form in her stomach, not at the blonde's words themselves, but rather the dismissive tone he spoke those words with.

For them, this was normal, and he was like a jealous child who also wanted to play.

And at the same time, her worry for Shouto and Midoriya grew. Did this have anything to do with his secret?

"Nobody said anything about fighting." The man whacked Bakugou once more. "Unlike a certain somebody, she actually has something called self-control."

The redhead who had been sitting next to Bakugou finished his meal, scraping the last bits of sauce off the sides, unaffected by the rampaging beast that was Bakugou, but Tsuyu could only assume that this was considered normal for them as well.

"Bakugou, you really should calm down." He said absentmindedly, his eyes scanning the various dishes on the table, and with a satisfied nod he reached for the rice. "You know Momo's more than capable of taking care of them." He explained in a bored tone, as if this was routine.

"Anyways, you should greet people before you start you bombarding them with questions." Kirishima nodded towards the hooded man and the masked man. "Welcome back, Tokoyami, good evening, Master Aizawa."

Both addressed men nodded back politely, completely ignoring the seething Bakugou.

The blonde grumbled to himself, but sank back into his chair without any further complaint, much to the surprise of all the travellers around the table. His eyes glanced at his empty plate, and with a reluctant sigh Tsuyu lifted her plate once more when the blonde complained about the lack of meat on the table.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Uraraka mirror her actions, an exasperated look on her face.

Her gaze drifted to the forest behind them, and while it disappeared into the shadow of the darkening sky, she felt her heart clench in worry of the two absent members of their group.

* * *

Honestly, there was a seed of guilt in Momo's heart, but she stomped on it as soon as it appeared. That was long in the past, and she had no time to worry about unnecessary feelings of remorse. What was in the past was in the past, and nothing she did right now would change that.

But there was another, larger part of her that was overflowing with pent-up emotions of rage and regret, and this situation was probably just bad luck on their side. She had been so successful at staying calm so far as well, most likely still slightly surprised _he_ was here in the first place.

She mentally chided herself for being so easily set off. She was behaving like a child.

However, she could not deny the small twinge of satisfaction the situation brought her, even though she knew the victorious feeling would be short-lived.

The prince was shooting her a look, not one of hatred, as she had expected, but rather one of confusion, due to him still trying to put the puzzle together. Nonetheless, he continued speaking to his green-haired companion.

"We've already established that I grew up in the royal court." He picked up where he left off, uneasy eyes glancing at the corpse just a few metres away from them on the ground. "So I met my fair share of royalty and nobility from the other countries."

"Including the western princess." The green-haired boy caught on quickly.

The runaway prince nodded. "And I can tell you that she looks nothing like this girl, whoever she may be." He gestured towards the cadaver, emphasizing his point. "Additionally, we were told that she died… due to specific circumstances."

Momo also had no clue who the imposter princess was, but she did feel sorry for her. She was probably a maid or a peasant girl who had jumped at the first chance of getting a better life, unknowingly signing a contract with the devil, whoever said devil may be.

* * *

"However," Shouto rose his voice slightly. "It appears we were misinformed. Apparently she's still alive." He finished his immensely condensed version of his story.

"So where is she now? And what does this have to do with anything?" Midoriya sunk into his own thoughts again, soft mumbles of random words escaping his lips.

"I don't know." Shouto found himself admitting once again, much to his own dismay. "Another concerning factor is how the information was handled publically. In fact, almost none of it was ever announced."

Midoriya interrupted his pondering to look up at Shouto, then turned his head towards Momo. "Is that true? You never knew?"

Momo shrugged, a neutral expression crossing her face. There it was again, the sudden snap of her emotions. "I was never really told much." She answered evenly, much in contrast to her snide attitude just a few minutes ago.

Shouto frowned at the display, unable to connect the dots. There was something… something he wasn't seeing, even if his gut instinct tried shouting it right at him.

Midoriya also frowned, but then his eyes widened with realization. "Wait, you never explained what the deal with Kaminari was!"

* * *

Kaminari sneezed, and he blamed it on inhaling too much of the pepper-heavy seasoning of the food. Jirou next to him snickered quietly, and he retorted by shooting her a dirty look.

Her grin was infectious, and while he found himself laughing alongside her and Ashido, the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach still loomed over him.

They were good company, but it would never fill the hole of the unknown.

* * *

He cursed under his breath as another twig snapped into his face, but his grip on his partner's small wrist never loosened. Her laboured breath created small clouds of mist with each exhale, and her skin was feverishly hot, and he knew, he knew that running like this would only further endanger her.

Determination burned within him as he abruptly pulled her around a sharp corner, forcing them both to crouch down behind a large rock.

"Hagakure." He whispered softly, gently putting his free hand on the girl's shoulder. She was still panting heavily, and he could only pray to the non-existent gods that she would be strong enough to get through this unharmed.

Her fingers weakly enclosed his wrist, in an attempt of a reassuring gesture.

"Just a bit longer." He whispered to her. "Please, just hold on a bit longer."

Distant shouts and torches marked the arrival of their pursuers, and Ojiro released Hagakure's shoulder in favour of resting his fingers around the handle of his sword, should the worst come to be.

"D-Don't…" A soft groan escaped her lips.

He trained his eyes on the hovering shadows the torches threw through the trees, the hand holding on to Hagakure's wrist squeezing her limb.

"It'll be alright." He told her. "It'll be alright as long as we stick together, right? We'll find the potion master, and we'll get you all healthy again."

Her hot skin burned his flesh, but he was not going to let go of her. They were a team, and he was never going to leave her behind, no matter what.

The voices and lights disappeared after an agonizing while, but after making sure the coast was clear, Ojiro shouldered their belongings once again and resumed guiding Hagakure through the forest.

They were so close, yet so far.

* * *

When the three of them arrived at the dinner table, nobody else was there anymore. While their walk back had been describable by the single word 'awkward', Shouto welcomed the lack of company.

After spilling so many of his secrets to Midoriya and Momo, he felt exhausted. The tiredness only kicked in once his heartbeat calmed down, and it was only in the aftermath that he realized exactly how much of his past he had laid bare.

Of course, it wasn't everything, but he still felt exposed. On top of it all, Midoriya probably felt the same, and he still didn't know who Momo really was. He went through the trouble of setting up their meeting with himself in mind as the victor, but fate was cruel.

"There's not a lot of meat left." Midoriya attempted starting a conversation, a fake laugh accompanying his statement.

Momo merely raised an eyebrow at him, her cloak rustling softly when she paused her motion.

Shouto admired his courage, he really did, but he felt as if they had done enough talking for the day. Of course, he was being unreasonably selfish, since he was the one who dragged Midoriya into this in the first place, even forcing him to reveal a secret of his own, but it didn't stop the boy from being a beacon of positivity.

He chuckled lowly. He would never be able to be like that.

"I told you Bakugou would eat it all." The only female at the table replied in a lacklustre fashion, gently blowing on the hot stew in her spoon.

"N-No kidding." Midoriya shot back forcibly. "But he sure can eat, right?"

Momo chewed her spoonful of food thoroughly and slowly, then swallowed it down in an equally time-consuming manner. Almost ladylike, Shouto noted.

There was a look in her eyes, as if she was about to say something snide again, but she decided against it and forewent answering the question altogether.

Silence settled over the trio as they finished their meal, surrounded by a thick, uncomfortable atmosphere.

* * *

A figure hummed softly as she balanced along the edge of a cliff, dangerously close to the abyss. But it was alright, she liked the thrill of adrenaline that rushed through her veins at the exhilarating feeling. She added a light swing to each of her steps, much to the annoyance of her company.

"Would you cut that out?" A male voice grumbled rudely.

A grin split across her face as she twirled around just to spite the man, the fabric of her dress swishing around her legs with the movement. "Hmmmm… How about no?" She giggled, nearly hysterically. "At least not until we've found something fun to do."

* * *

 **AN: A shorter chapter, but a chapter nonetheless. I really wanted to update this earlier, but there's this thing called "real life responsibilities" that's just really time-consuming.**

 ** **Next chapter will focus on Momo's backstory, explaning why she's so ooc, as well as flesh out the Dragoons a bit more.****

 ** **Reviews are always appreciated, so leave one on your way out :)****

 ** **~Emi****


	10. Drowning In The Rain

_**X. Drowning In The Rain**_

Ochako groaned at the sudden stream of blinding light entering the room, blinking rapidly while her eyes got used to the brightness.

In the doorway, blocking most of the brightness, was a tall silhouette of a girl.

"Wake up." She didn't even shout or anything, but Ochako still felt that she didn't want to know what would happen if she were to defy her.

The girl was the one who met them (and almost killed them in the forest), and Ochako realized they had never been formally introduced to each other, since she wasn't present at dinner the day before. Just as Deku and Shouto weren't…

Something hit the ground with a loud noise, causing the other girls to also wake from their slumber. But honestly, who could blame them? It had been a long time since any one of them slept on an actually comfortable bed.

She eyed the object on the floor, deducing that it was an iron basket of sorts, filled to the brim with… towels?

"I said, wake up." The black-haired girl repeated from the doorway, getting the attention of the others, who scrambled to get up under the girl's demanding tone.

A few seconds later they all stood in front of their respective beds, clothes rumpled and hair a fuzzy mess, but it was enough to please the Dragoon girl.

She nodded in satisfaction, her messy bun swinging with the motion. "Good. Now that you're all awake, or at least somewhat awake, I'll introduce myself. My name is Momo, and I am the assistant of the Chief advisor, whom I believe you've all met already, albeit briefly."

Ochako and the others nodded wearily, recalling the masked man from the day before.

"That aside, I'm going to let all of you take a bath now. You've been travelling for who knows how long, so I'm sure you could all use it." There was a hint of softness to her voice, reminding Ochako of a stern mother who only wants the best for their child.

"We've provided some towels and change of fresh clothes for all of you, so feel free to wash your clothes in our river later." Momo continued, gesturing to the basket on the ground.

Ochako, having been the first one to wake up, was also probably processing the information the fastest. She took a step forward, taking a bundle from the basket and smiling up at Momo.

"Thank you." She added brightly. On second glance, Momo really didn't seem that bad a person. If she hadn't met her in the forest beforehand, she would have thought she was a no-nonsense, kind girl.

But she had. She had seen the merciless, cold look in her emotionless black eyes, the memory sending unpleasant shivers down her back.

"Thank you for taking care of us." Tsuyu bowed slightly, also helping herself to a bundle from the basket, Ashido and Jirou following right behind her.

Momo returned the gesture, the corner of her lip trailing upwards. She probably had a beautiful smile, Ochako thought.

"Alright, I'll lead you to the lakes now. Our fire dragon already warmed up the water for us." That said, Momo effortlessly lifted the iron basket again, leading them out of the hut they were staying in and through the paths of the settlement.

Ochako watched the Dragoon men and woman begin their day, gathering water and ingredients to start cooking, as well as armed patrols disappearing into the forests.

"Life here must be amazing." She muttered wondrously, catching sight of the large silhouettes on the horizon.

"It can be overwhelming at first, but it really is full of great people." Momo agreed, almost fondly.

Tsuyu perked at that. "I don't mean to pry, but does that mean you didn't live here all your life?"

Momo stiffened at that, but it was so momentary that Ochako might as well have imagined it. "Uh, no, I grew up in a nearby village." She answered evenly, even if it seemed slightly off to Ochako, and by the frown on Tsuyu's face, she felt the same.

"Really?" Ashido cut in, smoothly pushing herself between Ochako and Momo. "When we left our home village, we went as far away as we could afford to. It was really coincidence that we ended up meeting Midoriya, otherwise we would probabl-mphh" Ochako sweatdropped at the sight of Jirou clamping her hand over her partner's mouth, laughing apologetically.

Momo raised an eyebrow at their behaviour, but chose not to comment on it. "You girls seem like a lively bunch, so what got you involved in this quest, anyway?" She asked instead, her eyes trailing over the group.

There was something overly familiar about her tone that didn't sit quite right with Ochako, but at the same time she still got the stern mother, or perhaps older sister vibes from the Dragoon girl, lulling her into wanting to trust Momo.

Without her cloak and unconventional armour, clad in a simple dress instead, she immediately appeared so much more approachable, especially with her almost kind, yet respectfully formal demeanour.

Jirou's hand slipped away from Ashido's face causing the girl to breathe in relief. The purple-haired sound mage locked eyes with Momo for a moment, then sighed.

"You've spoken to Shouto and Midoriya already, right?" She asked bluntly. "That's why neither of you were at dinner yesterday."

Ashido sent her partner a worried look, bringing up her hands to stop Jirou from continuing, but Momo interrupted her gesture by speaking up first.

"Yes, I did." Momo admitted professionally, a challenging glint in her eye. "I fail to see what that has to do with my question."

Ochako's lower lip trembled slightly, so she bit down on it firmly. She hadn't expected Jirou to tackle things head-on, but after the suspicious happenings of the entirety of yesterday, none of them could really let it go.

Once the girls had settled down in their huts, they all agreed that something bigger was going on, and that they would need to discuss it with the rest of their group somehow. At dinner Ochako had gotten the opportunity to discuss some things with Iida, but he didn't have much to offer either. Only the fact that Shouto had been questioned by the Chief Advisor, only to come back seemingly exhausted.

Back in their hut, the girls pondered on that information, as well as the absence of two of their travel mates and the bits of conversation that ran between the Dragoons, especially whatever the loud blonde, Bakugou had to say.

Whatever it was, Momo was treating them to a bath, which probably meant that her conversation with Deku and Shouto must have ended on good terms, right?

"Wouldn't you have a good idea of why we are here, in that case?" Jirou continued asking. "It'd be easy to draw the conclusion."

"Yes, it would be easy to draw a conclusion, but I wouldn't be asking you if that conclusion seemed plausible, would I?" Momo answered confidently, now leading them down a forested path. Ochako could already make out some steaming water in the near distance.

Jirou still held a sceptical look in her eye. "If you don't think we're here as treasure hunters, then what do you think?"

They came to a stop in front of a clear lake, wafts of steam lingering above the still surface.

"I don't know what to think." Momo sighed, but it sounded more like a general statement than a mere answer to her question.

* * *

Momo hummed contently at the feel of the just-right water, this was just what her tired body and stressed out soul needed. The female guests also let themselves into the water after her.

Right now, she really didn't want to think about her problems, but at the same time she was curious as to how their party had formed. She wasn't one to speak herself, considering that she was in a patrol unit with Kirishima and Bakugou, but it still wasn't an everyday occurrence to have such a mismatched group stroll into your life.

"Wow, this feels so great!" The brown-haired girl exclaimed enthusiastically, probably to bridge the tense atmosphere from their prior conversation. "That water is so clean!"

"Of course it is." Momo explained, hints of pride in her voice. "Dragons are nature spirits, most of them can emit healing properties when they are in sync with their element."

"Really? That's so interesting! There weren't any dragons where we come from, so I hardly know anything about them." The girl pouted.

Momo almost smiled. There weren't many female Dragoons her age, so it was nice to see what it was like to grow up outside of this village. Not that she would trade it for anything in the world, no.

The Dragoons had given her and her master a home when they had nothing left.

* * *

"My parents work hard." The brown-haired girl suddenly spoke up, dragging Momo out of her drifting thoughts. "They do their best, every day, so that I can live a happy and fulfilling life." She had a fond smile on her lips, but at the same time her eyes held nothing but sadness.

"I wanted to pay them back somehow, so when Deku said we might find some treasures here, I thought maybe, just maybe I could do something for them in return." Her smile faltered when she looked up to Momo.

"Sorry my reasons aren't as honourable as you might have hoped."

Momo blinked at the girl, then shook her head slightly. "There's nothing dishonourable about wanting to pay back those who have done good things for you. Although I'm afraid you guys won't find many treasures where you'll be headed."

"Where we'll be heading?" The pink-haired Halfling inquired with a raise of her eyebrow.

The sceptical purple-haired girl narrowed her eyes at Momo once more. "So the three of you already discussed that as well?"

"We didn't go over the details, but there aren't any valuable treasures besides the One For All in the area." Momo explained vaguely. She would be respectful towards Shouto's and Midoriya's wishes to keep their secrets. After all, if Shouto were to figure out her identity at some point, she'd at least have some leverage against him.

The frog girl was trying to glance at her inconspicuously, but Momo could feel her eyes on her. It was only natural that they wouldn't have complete trust in her.

"We want to start over. A fresh start." The pink-haired girl spoke up after some time, much to the horror of the purple-haired girl.

"Kyouka and I… we did some bad things in the past." The Halfling went on, pushing the other girl, Kyouka, away when she tried to intercept. "We were pretty poor, so we had to resort to stealing things in order to survive. When we realized that we were actually quite talented, we got a bit too ahead of ourselves and harmed many people in the process."

"Mina…" Kyouka sighed, looking at her apparent partner in crime.

Mina shook her head vigorously. "It was wrong, Kyouka. We… we shouldn't have… After meeting such earnest people as Shouto, Midoriya and Iida, as well as Uraraka and Tsuyu here," She smiled fondly at the other two girls, "we decided it was time we change our way of life. And sometimes you need to take a leap of faith for that. Our leap of faith was to accompany them on their journey. Even if we didn't find the legendary sword, we would have found many wonderful friends."

Momo and the others were momentarily stunned into silence.

"That's a good outlook in life." Momo applauded the Halfling gently. "Make sure you don't lose it." _Not like I did…_

* * *

Kyouka knew it was rude to glare at people, but she just couldn't figure Momo out. She had very little reason to believe that the girl was good-hearted in any way, but she was awfully polite, unnecessarily so.

The nickname Bakugou had for her resurfaced to her mind.

 _Assassin girl._

She glanced over to Mina quickly. For all they knew, Mina and her were angels compared to what Momo might have done in the past.

And then the curveballs kept coming. Her words for Uraraka and Mina were earnest, either that or she was the best liar in the world.

Kyouka grimaced. She wanted to understand. She wanted to understand who Momo was.

* * *

"I've always wanted to travel." The frog girl finished their talk. "It's been my dream for as long as I can remember. So when Midoriya offered me to accompany them, I accepted his offer."

Momo nodded, but not without taking note that the frog girl was not telling her something. "That's a nice dream. Has it been like you imagined it'd be?"

Something flickered in the girl's eyes before she answered. "Eh, honestly, not quite." She scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. "Continuously looking for food and water can be pretty taxing."

Momo nodded absentmindedly, remembering the time she lived with Master Aizawa in the cottage in the woods. "I know what that feels like."

A soft roar sounded in the distance and Momo let out a sigh. "Looks like our bath time is over. I hope you enjoyed it."

Mina stretched out her arms with a satisfied smile on her lips. "Yes, it was wonderful! Thank you very much."

The others, even Kyouka, agreed.

Momo was content enough with that. None of them seemed to have any evil intentions towards the sword, so there was no reason to intercept them nor stall them here any further.

They got dressed after drying themselves off, making insignificant small talk along the way. The brunette, Uraraka had talked to her about the regional ingredients they used for cooking in the Dragoon tribe.

The frog girl and Kyouka still seemed apprehensive of her, but that was only to be expected.

Deep down, they were all good-hearted girls. There was no need for them to stay here any longer than absolutely necessary.

* * *

Master Aizawa's room was a spectacular mess, as always, and he was rolled up in his cocoon-like yellow blanket, as always.

"Put the reports on the table." He mumbled sleepily, and Momo complied with a soft sigh. Some things never changed.

Just as she was about to close the door to the hut behind her, she took the opportunity to give it one more good look.

So much had changed for both of them when they joined the Dragoon tribe. She shook her head gently at the memories, then closed the door behind her quietly.

* * *

" _Father, father, where are we going?" The young black-haired girl asked the older man accompanying her excitedly. Her bright eyes peered out of the carriage window, taking in the changing scenery with awe._

" _Are we going to visit the Southern Kingdom again?" She turned towards her father, a hopeful smile on her face._

" _I'm afraid not, Momo dear." Her father responded solemnly, a sad smile on his lips._

" _Father?" She asked him hesitantly. "Did something happen? Something bad?"_

 _The old man sighed. "You could say that, sweetie."_

 _The little girl put on a determined expression. "Is there anything I can do to help you, father? I will do my best!"_

 _Her father looked at her with an odd look in his eyes, then nodded slowly. "Of course you will, sweetie. I have just the job for you."_

 _There was something about her father's words that seemed off, but the little girl trusted her father. There was no way he would ever hurt her, right?_

 _Right? Right?_

 _Right?_

* * *

 _" _F-Father?" She trembled as she looked up at her father. "What's going on?" Tears threatened to spill down her face, but she was a big girl, and big girls didn't cry.__

 _They just didn't._

" _You said you'd do anything for me, right?" His voice was harsh, cold, wrong._

" _Y-Yes?"_

 _He smiled at her, but it sent an unpleasant chill down her spine. "I have the perfect job for you, dearie." He patted her on her head, but it didn't feel the least bit reassuring._

" _Yes, father?" She was almost afraid to ask._

" _You wanted to travel, right? There's this pleasant valley near here… I'm sure you'll find it… breath-taking." He explained, but his eyes weren't looking at her. It was as if they were looking right through her._

" _Are you sure, father? It's really late…" She nervously glanced at the setting sun._

" _Nonsense, sweetie. It'll be a lovely midnight stroll." He laughed, no, cackled hysterically after that._

 _Momo felt panic rise within her. Who… who was this man?_

 _This man wasn't her father! Her father was kind, smiled gently and laughed whole-heartedly._

" _C-Can we do this tomorrow, father?" She tried her best to put on a believable smile, but she knew she failed._

" _No!" Her father suddenly shouted loudly. "It must be tonight!" With that he wrapped a hand around her small wrist and roughly dragged her through the castle and straight through the front gates._

 _She didn't notice the horrified and pitiful looks on the servants' faces. She was too busy trying to accept that her father was hurting her._

 _He practically threw her into the carriage, then dismissed the coachman, taking up his position instead._

 _Momo, alone in the dark sitting compartment, did the only thing she could think of. She hugged herself tightly and wept silently._

 _Because big girls don't cry._

* * *

 _ _The terrain was uneven, and soon the sound of rain hitting the exterior joined in to the rhythmic tapping of the horses' hooves and the gentle creaking of the carriage.__

 _Every bump in the road made the carriage shake roughly, occasionally throwing Momo across the sitting department._

 _She sniffled, ignoring the new bruise that would be forming on her arm. If only she were better at alchemy already, then she could do something about this. She wouldn't know what, but if she had more power, she was sure she could do something!_

 _Anything!_

 _She was supposed to be incredibly smart, at least all her tutors always praised her endlessly, so why? Why was she so helpless right now?!_

 _The carriage shook violently once more, causing her to fall into the opposite bench face-first. A sudden pain blossomed across her face, additionally to the feeling of warm liquid trickling down her forehead._

 _She hissed, new tears threatening to fall down from her eyes, but she bit down on her lip harshly to hold them back._

 _Big girls don't cry._

* * *

 _" _Ruler of the Western Kingdom… what is the meaning of this?" The majestic voice echoed across the entire valley imposingly, the sound waves making surrounding tress sway dangerously.__

" _A sacrifice, good Dragon Elder!" Her father presented her, a crazed look in his eyes. "You can have her, in return leave my Kingdom alone!"_

 _The dragon remained silent, only narrowing his large eyes by a fraction. Momo was still trembling, the rain soaking through her dress and hair, mingling with the blood and sweat on her forehead._

 _She was scared. "F-Father? Father, pleas-"_

" _Be quiet, useless wench!" He hissed at her, shutting her up effectively. Then he turned back to the dragon. "Please, accept it, good Dragon Elder! This is my daughter, Momo! Surely her heritage is enough to appease you!"_

 _The dragon still didn't say a single word, but Momo felt her heart shatter._

 _Useless wench. Useless wench._

 _She screamed._

 _With strength she never knew she had, she tore her bruised wrist out of her father's grip, ignoring the sickening crunch that came with the action._

" _Where do you think you're going?!" Her father's angry voice followed her, but she ran. She screamed and she ran and she screamed and she ran, as far as her short legs would carry her, until she couldn't hear her father's voice anymore._

 _She fell to her knees, shrouded by the shadows the trees around her cast on the forest ground. The ground was muddy from the still pouring rain, dirtying her dress further. She also lost her shoes somewhere, she noticed._

 _Her heart was beating so loudly that she couldn't even hear the rain anymore, her father's last words echoing in her mind._

 _Useless wench._

 _A loud sob escaped her throat when the pain of her broken wrist hit her, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the pain she felt in her chest._

 _They lied to her at the castle._

 _Even big girls cry._

* * *

 _She woke to the smell of fresh herbal tea. Lavender tea, to be exact. She blinked her eyes open, her vision blurry. A headache hit her suddenly, making her whimper softly._

 _What happened? Was it maybe just a bad dream? Was it because she ate that piece of cake without her governess' approval? Maybe eating so much sugar right before sleeping does affect your dreams negatively._

 _She made a move to sit up, her vision still impaired, when a sharp pain shot up her arm. Taken by surprise, she cried out in pain, immediately taking any kind of strain off her left hand, cradling it gently in her good hand._

 _Tears threatened to spill across her face, but she sniffled, trying to pull herself together._

" _Don't move too much." A gruff voice ordered, then two firm hands guided her to lean against a wall._

" _W-Where am I?" She asked between sniffles. "And why can't I see you clearly?"_

" _You had some pretty nasty wounds, little girl." The gruff voice responded reluctantly. "So I brought you somewhere dry and safe where I could patch you up."_

" _T-Thank you." She mumbled politely, just as she had been taught to._

 _He grumbled something, then held up something in front of her face. "Can you tell me how many fingers I'm holding up?"_

 _Momo stared at the undefinable object in front of her and shook her head regretfully, new tears forming in the corners of her eyes._

" _I see. It seems your concussion is worse than I thought." He sighed._

" _My concussion?" She asked worriedly. "I have a concussion?"_

" _Yeah… Do you remember anything from the last two days or are there any memories missing?" He inquired._

 _Momo closed her eyes and thought back. She remembered everything vividly. Too vividly._

 _She screamed again, scrambling to her feet, tears rolling down her cheeks in streams. She needed to get away, get away, get away…_

 _Two hands held her in place, keeping her from running. "Let me go!" She cried out desperately. "Let me go!"_

" _Oi, little girl, calm down!" The man's voice was drowned out by her father's voice, making her scream even louder._

" _Father! Let me go!" She choked out hoarsely, her parched throat aching for water._

" _Calm down!" The man spoke loudly. "You need to calm down! You're safe here!"_

" _S-Safe?" She stuttered softly. "Am I really safe here?"_

 _His hands were still on her shoulders, but they weren't digging into her flesh. His grip loosened and he patted her shoulders gently._

" _You're safe here." He repeated reassuringly, gently guiding her back to sit down. He took her good hand and placed a warm mug into it._

" _Have some tea, it'll make you feel better." She took it and brought her shaky hand to her face, the calming scent of lavender filling her nostrils._

" _T-Thank you." She said. "Thank you so much." It was probably the most earnest thanks she had ever given in her life._

 _The man sighed heavily. "Can you tell me your name?"_

 _She took a small sip of tea and gently nodded. "Momo Yaoyorozu."_

 _She could have sworn she heard the man inhale sharply, but it might have been her imagination._

" _I see. My name is Shouta Aizawa."_

* * *

 _ _Mister Aizawa let her sleep another round after feeding her some warm soup, saying he would bring her to a potion master when she woke up again.__

 _She fell into a dreamless, empty slumber._

* * *

 _ _The potion master was a skilled, kind old lady, and once her eyesight had focused again thanks to one of the potions, she could make out the woman's warm smile.__

 _At the sight she had thoughtlessly broken into tears and engulfed the woman in a desperate hug, because she just wanted to feel that warmth again._

 _The woman returned it, gently stroking her hair, whispering reassuring words to her as she cried her heart out into the woman's apron._

 _When she had run out of tears, Mister Aizawa held out a cup of warm tea to her, which she accepted gratefully._

 _The potion master looked at her wounds, changed the dressing on some of them and gave her a handful of concoctions to help her recover._

 _Momo stared at the amount of things in awe, then nearly started crying again out of gratitude. She would have been hopelessly lost without either of them._

" _I will definitely pay you back for helping me, Mister Aizawa. I promise." She told him upon learning that he covered her expenses with the potion master._

" _About that… what do you plan to do once you're fully recovered?" He asked seriously, his tired, sunken eyes lingering on her._

 _She stopped walking, realizing she hadn't thought that far yet. "I… I…" Her head spun. She couldn't possibly impose on Mister Aizawa any longer than she already had._

" _You don't have anywhere to go, right?" He said softly, resting his palm on top of her head. "You can stay with me in that case."_

" _R-Really?!" She looked up at him with hopeful eyes._

 _He nodded in response. "I'd be taking you in as my apprentice, if that's okay with you."_

 _Momo nodded vigorously, yes, please!_

 _He raised an eyebrow at her. "You're not even going to ask what I do for a living."_

 _She pulled her lips into a determined smile, then took his hand into her smaller ones. "You have many scars, Master Aizawa, yet you are standing here, talking to me. You've been in many battles, but you survived all of them. You are very strong, Master Aizawa. I want to be strong like that."_

" _No matter what it takes?"_

" _No matter what it takes."_

* * *

 _" _Once you take a step down this path, there's no going back." He explained to her in a serious tone. "This is your last chance to say no."__

 _Momo shook her head. "I've made up my mind. I'm doing it."_

" _From now on, there will only be monsters, no more humans." He clarified._

 _Momo smiled at him softly. "In that case, a monster saved my life, so surely not all hope is lost."_

 _His eyes widened slightly at that, but then he chuckled and patted the top of her head. "That's one way to see things. But not all monsters are like me. Just remember that."_

 _She nodded in affirmation. "I will."_

 _He smiled at her sadly, pulling her into an unexpected hug. "I'm sorry." He said simply, but Momo caught on to what he was implying. She circled his larger torso with her arms._

" _It's alright. I made this choice."_

* * *

 _" _Don't extend your arm too much, you'll lose your balance." He instructed, adjusting her stance.__

" _Right!" She memorized the correct stance intensively, the way every fibre of her body felt when she made the movement._

 _Master Aizawa nodded approvingly._

* * *

 _" _I don't know why, but it's too brittle." She explained, handing the piece of metal she had created with alchemy to her mentor.__

 _Master Aizawa studied the piece intensely, then slammed it against the stone wall. The metal broke cleanly into two._

" _It's too hard, that's why. What you want to create is a durable metal, not a hard one. It needs to be able to absorb shock as well as withstand it. Try again."_

 _She nodded understandingly, the puzzle pieces in her mind connecting the dots._

" _I need some sort of alloy… but what kind of metals should I use?" She mumbled to herself, flipping through a book she had gotten from Lady Shuzenji, the potion master._

" _Maybe you should try thinking out of the box." He advised her, picking up a piece of charcoal before chucking it into the fireplace._

 _She frowned at him at first, then realization dawned on her. With a small smile on her face, she started taking notes, knowing exactly what she had to do._

* * *

 _ _Master Aizawa inspected her newest product, then slammed it against the wall. A corner of the stone brick broke off, the metal unharmed.__

 _He handed it back to her. "That will do for now. Now I want you to practice creating weapons instinctively."_

" _Instinctively?"_

" _Yes, I want you to be able to create them in your sleep. Here's a list, pick a few to focus on, and make sure to create a balanced choice in order to be prepared for any situation."_

 _Momo accepted the list with a determined smile and went straight to work._

* * *

 _" _Breathe in, breathe out." His voice gently guided her in the background, her focus trained on the small white rabbit hopping between the bushes below them.__

 _She readjusted her foot on the branch of the tree, and with a deep breath she drew the arrow. The rabbit paused its movement to sniff a plant. In the exact same moment she released the arrow._

 _It whipped through the air, skewering right through the small animal._

" _Two more." Aizawa said from behind her._

 _She nodded, already having spotted the next one. Two perfect hits later, they were walking through the forest with their dinner._

" _Who's the third one for?" She inquired._

" _Chiyo. I need you to run an errand later on. She has some things for us." He explained curtly._

 _Momo nodded, hiding her small grimace. She knew that Master Aizawa's eyesight was getting worse because of his excessive use of his magic. Lady Shuzenji always smiled at her when she came to pick up the medicine for her mentor, but Momo only managed to return it half-heartedly._

 _Somehow, she'd make it up to Master Aizawa._

 _Somehow._

* * *

 _" _Why don't you go to the library while I get some things from the farmer's market?"__

 _Momo's ears perked at the word 'library'. "If you say so, master!"_

 _She happily skipped down the road, looking forward to looking through the newest potion books. Maybe the one that Lady Shuzenji mentioned would be there? It'd make a nice surprise for the woman who had become akin to a grandmother to her._

 _Momo never actually got to meet her real grandparents, but if she still had any, she'd want them to be just like Lady Shuzenji._

 _Suddenly, two hands shot out of the adjacent alley, clomping down on her face and pulling her into the darkness._

" _Oh my god, we did it!" One of the thugs whisper-yelled at one of his accomplices. "We got the Eraser's daughter!"_

 _Momo's eyes widened at the sound of her mentor's nickname, and after a few seconds she determined there were only three of them. She caught her captor off guard, and in the blink of an eye all three of them were on the ground, immobile._

 _Her senses suddenly called out to her when she felt a presence above her, one that she had somehow missed before that._

 _She looked towards the sky, but her body was already moving on its own._

 _The fourth assailant was just above her, and before she knew it, she was holding a dagger in her hand, pushing it right through the attacker's chest._

 _He was practically skewered on her short dagger, his dead body slumping down, toppling Momo over as well._

 _The blood was everywhere, her clothes, her hands, her everything. She panted, immediately looking at her hands to see whether they were trembling or not._

 _She had never killed anybody before. Not another person, at least._

 _The man's lifeless corpse was limply draped over her legs, and Momo felt absolutely nothing._

" _Master Aizawa!" She suddenly recalled, what if they were after him as well?_

 _She pushed the corpse off herself and ran out into the street, not caring about her appearance. If anything, anything were to happen to Master Aizawa, she'd never forgive herself._

 _The farmer's market wasn't far, but it had never seemed further away than in that moment, especially when she spotted the first corpse._

 _Dread filled her when she remembered his worsening condition, and she frantically began searching for him._

 _He had to be somewhere in the area. Somewhere, somewhere._

 _For the second time in such a short time span, somebody clasped a filthy hand over her face and took hold of her. In her worry-filled frenzy, she had completely neglected the presence loitering behind her._

 _She shut her eyes, trying to break away, but this man was more skilled than the four that had approached her beforehand._

 _With horror, she realized she was trapped._

 _Her throat suddenly felt parched, but at the same time she felt like suffocating._

 _A limp body was thrown before her feet, and she recognized that messy black mass right away._

 _A tear fell from her eye, all the mocking, haughty voices around her fading into the background._

" _Oh poor you, daddy dearest can't protect you anymore." One of them sneered._

 _She clenched her teeth._

 _That one. That one was going to be the first to die._

* * *

 _She had wordlessly handed Master Aizawa's barely alive body to Lady Shuzenji, the only evidence of their encounter being her blood-soaked clothes, despite not having a single scratch on herself._

" _He'll pull through just fine, it's a good thing you got him here when you did." Lady Shuzenji rested a hand on her shoulder._

 _A sob rippled through her body, and Lady Shuzenji pulled her into a tight hug. She hadn't cried a single time since that day back then, she didn't even cry when Master Aizawa had left her all alone in that snake pit._

 _Because she knew. She knew he'd get her out of there._

 _But, what if, one day, he wasn't around anymore?_

 _Another wave of tears fell down her cheeks, her heart filling with fear at that thought._

* * *

 _ _The moment Master Aizawa woke up and looked at her, there was a flicker in his eyes, and he knew.__

 _He knew that she had lost the light in her eyes._

 _He leaned into his pillow staring up at the ceiling, muttering one last "I'm sorry."_

* * *

" _We're not safe here anymore." He announced solemnly._

 _Momo nodded in agreement. They had been compromised somehow._

" _Chiyo neither." He went on, and once again Momo agreed. The frequency with which she visited the old woman was bound to catch somebody's attention eventually._

" _She'll be relocating to the Southern Kingdom, so you should go say your goodbyes to her." He patted her shoulder, then began packing the most necessary things._

" _Where will we be going?" She asked him._

 _He looked at her with an unreadable expression. "To an independent area on the other side of the valley."_

" _I see." Her eyes landed on something. "I'll go see Lady Shuzenji off then."_

* * *

 _Lady Shuzenji smiled at her encouragingly, giving her a book on raw materials she had received as payment from a customer._

 _Momo accepted the gift gratefully, then handed the woman a small, purple crystal attached to a silver necklace. One of the few things she learned to create back at the royal court._

 _Lady Shuzenji smiled at her and took it, ruffling her hair one last time._

 _They'd probably never see each other again._

* * *

 _The journey across the valley had been rather uneventful, but that changed once they set foot into a certain forest._

 _All of a sudden, they were surrounded by multiple masked people who were pointing spears and swords of all shapes and sizes at them._

 _Momo eased into a battle stance instinctually, but paused when Master Aizawa held up a hand._

" _We don't have any intentions to harm you." He announced loudly and clearly. "I merely ask for an audience with your leader."_

 _The masked people glanced at each other hesitantly, before stepping aside and letting one individual through. Said individual removed their mask, revealing a scowling blonde woman with fierce red eyes._

" _What do you want?" She asked rudely._

 _Master Aizawa bowed slightly. "I would like to request refuge for both my apprentice and I. We believe our services and skills will be able to compensate the trouble it would cause you."_

 _The woman's expression remained unimpressed, the only difference being her raised brow. "Oh, what services and skills might those be?"_

 _Master Aizawa made a small hand gesture, but Momo had been waiting for it so she acted immediately upon receiving the signal._

 _A few seconds later, she had disarmed all the hunters surrounding her and her mentor._

" _Momo, what do you make of the metal they use for their weapons?" Master Aizawa asked her, and Momo being Momo had already caught on to the plan._

 _She picked up one of the spears and examined its tip thoroughly. "It's not bad, but it will rust too easily and lose its sharpness."_

 _The blonde woman rose her second eyebrow. "I see. Can you offer us advice on how to improve them?"_

 _Momo grinned confidently. "Of course."_

 _She nodded and rose her arm to the sky, twisting her wrist to form a series of gestures. Immediately after that, all masked hunters stepped away from them, forming a free path into the woods._

" _Congratulations on not dying." The woman smirked at them. "And welcome to our humble village."_

 _They were ushered along the free path, and once the trees stopped a lively clearing greeted them. It was small, but quaint._

 _However, that wasn't what caught Momo's eyes first._

 _No, it was the large, winged reptile that was sleeping soundly next to the clearing. She stiffened, her last encounter with one of its kind resurfacing to her mind._

 _She couldn't breathe._

 _She was alone, in the rain, it was cold, her father…_

 _The panic rising within her suddenly dwindled, drowned out by a warm, reassuring feeling. She blinked the tears from her eyes, looking up at her mentor who was patting her head._

 _She smiled at him meekly._

 _It was alright, her real father was right here, by her side. Everything would be alright._

* * *

 **AN: Dadzawa for the win.**

 **Obviously, we haven't arrived at the present Momo yet, but this chapter was already quite long so I took the liberty to split it up :)**

 **As always, I hope you enjoyed it, and don't forget to review! (Only three reviews on the last chapter was kinda disheartening, tbh...)**

 **~Emi**


	11. Dragonheart

**AN: In case you didn't know:**

 **Chiyo Shuzenji = Recovery Girl**

 **Nemuri Kayama = Midnight**

* * *

 _ **XI. Dragonheart**_

" _I hope you understand what this ensures." The blonde woman explained as she led them into the main hut in the village. "We are an independent village. We hold no loyalties to any of the kingdoms on this continent."_

 _Her ruby eyes stared the two of them down, right down to the soul. Momo even swore a shiver ran down her back._

 _Master Aizawa held up a hand. "That would be the least of your worries. Neither one of us holds any particular attachment to any of the kingdoms. However, that does not mean that there is no connection."_

 _The blonde woman narrowed her eyes at him, then dismissed her guards, leaving the three of them alone in the hut._

" _Here, we take our vows very seriously. As such, your secret will be safe with me, but only if I deem it safe enough to not compromise my family." She said sternly._

 _Both Momo and Master Aizawa nodded understandingly._

 _Momo took a deep breath. "My full name is Momo Yaoyorozu, and I am the only daughter of the King Of The West."_

 _The blonde woman's eyes widened, visibly. "I beg your pardon?" She asked in disbelief._

" _I'm sure you heard me the first time." Momo bowed slightly, showing her respect as well as her regret for imposing on the woman like that._

" _I wasn't going to ask, but how did you end up as an assassin's apprentice?" She inquired after a few moments in her thoughts._

" _My father tried to…" Her voice cracked towards the end of the sentence, even though she told herself to be strong. She was going to make it through this. She cleared her throat awkwardly._

" _My father tried to sacrifice me in order to settle a conflict." She finally managed to speak out loud._

 _Any other sentence spilled out of her lips effortlessly, but when talking about that particular incident, her vocal chords always froze up._

" _That bastard WHAT?!" The woman's loud voice shook Momo out of her thoughts instantaneously. Then she shook her head disapprovingly before suddenly wrapping her into a suffocating hug._

" _I'm sorry." The woman's heartfelt words touched Momo's soul. "That's something no parent should ever consider doing."_

 _Before she knew it, the woman was stroking her hair comfortingly, like what she always imagined a mother would do._

" _I have a son around your age." She explained eventually. "The mere thought of doing something like that…" She shook her head violently once more, her messy, blonde spikes following the motion._

 _Momo was still staring at the woman, uncertain of how to respond to her. "Missus, I think you're too trusting of me." She finally voiced a stray thought whirring in her mind._

" _Call me Mitsuki." The woman smiled at her brightly. "Missus makes me sound so old. As for your other concern…"_

 _Mitsuki took Momo's hands into her own, holding them firmly. "I've met many assassins and swindlers over the course of the years. I've seen all levels of acting abilities. But I've never seen anybody genuinely cry." With that, Mitsuki gently brushed away a tear from Momo's cheek._

" _When I look at you, my maternal instincts scream that I have to protect you." She smiled that brilliant, blinding smile at Momo again. "And my instincts are never wrong."_

" _I take it we have an agreement then?" Master Aizawa interrupted, gently easing Momo out of Mitsuki's grip. While it wasn't unpleasant, not in the least, the sudden human contact did leave Momo somewhat baffled, so she was grateful for her master's interference._

 _Mitsuki let her gaze rest on her mentor for a few seconds, then nodded. "Let me formally introduce myself before we continue, though. My name is Mitsuki Bakugou, and I am the Chief of the Dragoon tribe."_

" _Shouta Aizawa." He responded evenly._

" _The Eraser." Mitsuki acknowledged. "May I ask what brings you here? Why us, of all places?"_

" _Our location was compromised and we were being targeted. Nemuri Kayama said she trusted you. Her word is enough for me." Master Aizawa kept it short and simple. Momo briefly remembered the woman in question, a fellow apprentice of Aizawa's teacher. They had only met once or twice, though._

" _Midnight." Mitsuki nodded. "She visits often with her apprentice. I haven't seen her around lately, unfortunately."_

" _It would surprise me more if she actually stayed in one place." Master Aizawa mused._

 _Mitsuki chuckled at that, then retrieved an intricate blade from a stand in the corner of the room. She stood in front of Momo, a serious expression on her face._

" _I vow that your secret will be safe with me. We don't choose our blood relatives, and I'd rather you be here than with a man who would throw your life away without a second thought." She slit the blade across the palm of her hand, then took Momo's palm and gave her the knife._

" _What do you vow, Momo?"_

 _Momo stared at the beautiful blade in awe. This material… was so solid, so breath-taking, so perfect. She glanced at Mitsuki, who was smiling at her encouragingly. Then at Master Aizawa, who was letting her have the final decision._

 _She knew he would never force her to do anything she didn't want to do._

 _Mitsuki's smile made her feel warm, safe. She wanted to call it her home._

 _She slit the skin of her palm without hesitation. "I vow to do my best to protect you and your family, and to help you in any way I can."_

* * *

 _ _The rest of the Dragoons took to them unexpectedly well. They were friendly, down-to-earth people with a good sense of humour, yet at the same time each one was a fearsome warrior.__

 _But that wasn't all. There was still the reason they were independent._

 _Their ability to converse with and tame dragons._

 _At first, Momo still had difficulty approaching the beasts, and after explaining everything to Mitsuki one long night, the woman had introduced her to all the dragons, one by one, telling her their names, their preferred food, about their habits, both good and bad._

 _It wasn't that Momo was afraid of them. It was rather that the sight of them triggered her scariest memories, and the fact that she still lived in fear of that night._

 _Master Aizawa had eased most of the pain and fear away, but it would probably never disappear completely._

 _But the more time she spent with the dragons, the more she learned about their personalities, the more she accepted them as friends than as dragons. They had personalities, and they were so bright and diverse and colourful, she felt like a little girl again, discovering something completely new about the world._

 _It fascinated her. Her budding friendship with each and every one of them fascinated her._

 _When one of the dragons had blushed shyly and looked away, she had laughed. For the first time she could remember, she laughed so hard that her cheeks hurt and her stomach ached, but it was a good kind of pain._

 _The kind that made her feel alive._

* * *

" _Huh? So you're the runt that Mom took in?" A condescending voice interrupted her thoughts._

 _Momo glanced at the boy who was basically a carbon copy of Mitsuki. "If I'm a runt, you're quite the runt yourself." She retorted easily._

 _The boy's expression went from arrogant to angry in a split-second. "What did you say, runt?!"_

 _She walked up next to him, gesturing at their heights with her hand. "See, you're shorter than me. Wouldn't that make you the runt?"_

" _You have ten seconds to take that back." The boy growled furiously. "Ten, nine, eight… oh screw it!" The boy lunged at her, but she sidestepped his attack effectively._

 _His attack would've probably been quite powerful, but he was too straightforward it with it. "That's not going to work." She commented absentmindedly, her eyes straying to his lacklustre form._

" _Huh?! You still have something to say?" He continued growling, more like a cornered wolf than a young boy._

 _Momo nodded, unaffected by his behaviour, bringing her hand to her chin. "You're putting too much weight on your front leg." She pushed him lightly, and it was enough to make him stagger. "Try lowering your centre of gravity."_

 _He scowled at her, but did what she said nonetheless. She could see the conflict in his eyes, his pride preventing him from saying anything._

" _Much better." She nodded approvingly, making some more minor corrections to his form. She knew he wouldn't say it out loud, but something flickered across his red eyes that was akin to gratitude._

 _In that moment, Mitsuki smacked the back of his head. "Oi! What the hell was that for?!" The boy jumped out of his stance, glaring at his mother._

" _Have you thanked Momo yet, Katsuki?" She asked him sternly._

" _I don't have to thank this runt!" Katsuki retorted angrily, flailing his arms around. Mitsuki responded by pulling his ear._

" _Ow ow ow let go, Mom!" He cried out in pain, but Mitsuki was relentless._

" _You better start being nice to her, Momo is going to be your new tutor." Mitsuki went on calmly, still pulling her son's ear._

" _I don't need a fucking tutor!" Katsuki whined, and Mitsuki's expression froze at the swear word mingled into his sentence._

" _You're twelve, you shouldn't be swearing like that." She shook her head disapprovingly._

" _But you say that all the time!"_

 _A guilty look crossed Mitsuki's face when she found herself unable to deny the fact that yes, she swore the entire time._

" _Anyways, Momo is going to teach you how to read and write. So be nice to her and say thank you." With that, Mitsuki ruffled his spiky hair and left._

 _Katsuki stared after his mother, grumbling to himself while trying to put his hair back in the way it was before, but it refused to go with his wishes._

 _Momo felt torn whether to giggle at his antics or to reprimand him for taking things for granted. What she would have done to have such a caring mother… She shook that thought off immediately._

 _After all, Mitsuki treated her nearly the same way. That was more than enough._

" _So, Katsuki, was it?" She approached the blonde boy. He turned around, shooting her a glare. If there was one thing he could do better than her, it was definitely glaring. She didn't even know it was anatomically possible for eyebrows to sit that low on one's face._

" _Don't call me that, Ponytail." He glowered at her._

" _My name is Momo, it's not that difficult. And if you don't want me to call you that, than what should I call you?" Momo was patient, she liked talking things through if the opportunity presented itself._

" _I don't care what your name is, Ponytail. As for what you may call me," He turned to face her fully, taking up an arrogant stance. "I think Lord Explosion Murder will suffice."_

" _Rejected."_

* * *

 _Bakugou… was a tough nut. He brought her patience to a limit on a daily basis, but at the same time he was an incredibly fast learner, picking up writing and reading far quicker than she would have expected him to._

 _Soon, even his nickname for her became kind of endearing. It was only when she realized that he had a unique nickname for everybody in the village that she began to see the value in it (albeit the fact that most of his nicknames were centred around the individual's hair)._

 _Their friendship solidified when he let her join him on one of the most important events of his life: His first egg hatching._

 _Watching him chase around the newly hatched dragons had drawn the one or the other snicker out of her, but she tried to keep it down out of respect for him._

 _However, when one of the particularly defiant ones spat into his face, she burst out laughing, earning a death glare from Bakugou._

 _That was also the one who grew most attached to him, and with Bakugou's horrible naming sense, Momo actively tried to convince him to shorten 'King Explodo' down to 'Plodo'._

* * *

 _And then, a good year after she and Master Aizawa settled down in the Dragoon village, during which Mitsuki had appointed her mentor the new Chief advisor, something happened._

 _A young boy with bright, red hair stood in their settlement, cold, dead eyes glaring up at the villagers defiantly._

 _In his hands were twin blades, wafting of the darkest magic Momo had ever sensed. Even darker than necromancy._

 _Mitsuki was out of the village with her husband, meaning that Bakugou insisted it was his duty to intercept this problem. And Bakugou, being Bakugou, thought the first solution was using violence._

 _Had Momo arrived at the scene earlier, she would have immediately held him back, but somehow, fate knew what it was doing._

 _Momo only arrived later, and by the time she did, Bakugou and the mystery boy were engaged in heavy combat. The chief's son was grinning like a madman, his fluid movements the result of many long sessions of Momo passing on all the knowledge she had obtained from Master Aizawa, in combination with the fighting style nurtured within the village._

 _The other boy's movements, on the other hand, seemed really off. They were inconsistent, sometimes looking as if they were serious, other times hardly even trying._

 _The stench of the foul magic was making Momo feel sick to the stomach, but Bakugou seemed unaffected by it. He graciously avoided the twin blades, his grin only growing wider. He was a hunter in his full element, and soon he landed a meaningful blow to the intruder's head._

 _The dark magic suddenly dissipated with the boy's loss of consciousness, letting Momo breathe freely again._

 _Whatever that was, they were going to have to get to the bottom of it._

* * *

 _ _The boy woke up, shackled and under the insightful eye of Mitsuki herself. He glanced around in confusion, then a look of fear covered his face.__

" _W-Where am I?" He stammered out, a bit too fearfully for it to be faked._

 _Mitsuki narrowed his eyes at him. "What do you remember, boy?"_

 _Master Aizawa, Bakugou and Momo stood behind her, somewhat obscured by the shadows, both remaining silent._

" _I…" The redhead trailed off, scrunching his face as he tried to recall his last memories. "I was training with my uncle, then this man showed up… and… ugh." The boy leaned forward, resting his head in his shackled hands. "And then… the man…"_

 _He suddenly stopped talking, his widened eyes meeting with Mitsuki's. "Oh god, where is my uncle?"_

 _Mitsuki pulled her lips into a straight line, her mind reeling with the pieces of the puzzle and her obvious conclusion._

" _I don't even know where you're from, boy. All I know is that you attacked my people for no apparent reason." She explained solemnly as the boy's face grew paler and paler with each word. "If you're hiding anything from me, I swear I will…"_

 _At this point, the boy's face was whiter than fresh snow. "I'd never… No, there's no way… You have to believe me! I'd never attack anybody like that! It's not manly at all!" Tears of desperation began forming in the corner of his eyes, and Momo could see the pained expression on Mitsuki's face. She didn't want to be doing this either._

 _Master Aizawa stepped forward, a wooden mask covering his face as part of his position as chief advisor. "One of our people mentioned that you seemed to be under the control of particularly dark magic. Perhaps that will help your memories?"_

 _Tears ran down the boy's face. "Please, no, don't let it be true… I… I… The man… he…" His eyes flitted across the room wildly. Then they focused on one of the daggers on the wall opposite of him. "The man challenged my uncle to a fight. My uncle… lost. And then…" A dark shadow fell across the boy's face. "And then he made me kill everyone else."_

* * *

" _Magic that can control minds, maybe?" Momo suggested nervously. They were standing outside the hut, letting some of the potion masters take care of the boy who had passed out._

 _Master Aizawa shook his head. "No, he wouldn't think of the memory as a bad thing in that case. It's probably more along the lines of some kind of puppeteer magic."_

 _Momo gulped. "Either way, it's scary." A shiver ran down her back, imagining complete helplessness and denial of your own free will. It reminded her too much of that night._

 _Even Bakugou remained silent, pondering on what they had learned on his own. "How do we know he isn't lying?"_

 _Mitsuki smacked the back of his head, but even that was only done half-heartedly. "He's not lying." She said softly._

" _Regardless, what should we do about this?" Master Aizawa directed the question at the Dragoon Chief, who sighed in response._

" _I don't know. He might be from a nearby village, or one of the hunter tribes in the forest. Maybe we should look for the bloodbath first." Mitsuki answered solemnly._

 _Momo nodded. "I could probably trace the foul magic if you need me to."_

 _Mitsuki ruffled her hair. "That would be great. I'll gather some of the men for you."_

" _If she's going, I'm going too." Bakugou interjected, standing next to Momo. Mitsuki glanced at her son, then sighed. "Alright, but please be careful."_

* * *

 _ _Later that day, Momo and Bakugou met up with five other Dragoons to set out on their mission. The group leader, Tai, greeted both of them before letting Momo trace down any more of the magic in the area.__

 _Eventually, she found a trail, and they concluded that it must have been how the redhead had entered their settlement. A few hours later, she nearly threw up because of the intensity of the foul magic, but she pushed herself to continue on._

 _And soon enough, the magic mingled with the iron-heavy stench of blood and decomposing bodies. Momo held her cloak closer to her face, trying not to inhale the strong smell._

 _The Dragoons struggled with the same problem, but they stepped forward nonetheless._

" _I think I know where we are." Tai said after some time of examining the site. "If I remember correctly, this is a settlement of mercenaries, or rogues, as they call themselves. We didn't have a lot to do with them, but occasionally our paths crossed when travelling through the forest."_

 _The rest of the group nodded, and they were about to head back to report their findings to Mitsuki when Momo found something._

 _The group gathered around her as she pulled out a black sword from underneath one of the corpses. "This looks a lot like those blades the kid had, right?" She held it up to Bakugou in particular, since he was the one who get the best look at the redhead's weapons before they disappeared into thin air._

 _He nodded. "But this one is way more intense." He added darkly, giving the sword a suspicious look. "I don't like this."_

" _Neither do I." Tai agreed. "It was probably some sort of magical anchor."_

 _Momo tilted the sword to look at it from each angle. "The blade isn't made of metal." She concluded after some time. "It's just really dense, solidified magic." She gagged as it let another wave of foul magic ripple across the area. "And it's definitely the source that I've been tracking."_

 _Tai scowled before wrapping the sword in his magic-repelling cloak. "We better get back and inform the chief about this."_

 _The rest of the group agreed, and they departed, none of them aware of the shadow watching them from one of the surrounding trees._

* * *

" _This is very unsettling. I think we should get rid of it." Mitsuki grimaced at the black sword. "If the caster comes back to it, we might not be able to deal with him or her."_

" _What's worse is that it doesn't correspond to any of the nature elements." Master Aizawa lamented. "We don't have a single clue as for how to deal with it."_

" _That should be impossible, right? Everybody's magic corresponds to at least one of the nature elements." Momo grumbled. "At least they have an affinity for one of them."_

 _A knock sounded from the door, interrupting their conversation. A woman poked her head through the opened door. "Lady Mitsuki, the young boy woke up again."_

" _Ah, yes, bring him here." She commanded, but in that moment a loud shriek was heard from outside. Everyone stormed out of the door, only to see the redhead enveloped in dark wafts of magic once more, fighting off the Dragoons that stepped up to engage him in combat. Despite somehow wielding the black sword they had retrieved from his village, he was struggling against the experienced Dragoon warriors._

" _Step back!" A loud, bellowing voice confidently echoed through the area. "Let me deal with this!"_

 _Momo's gaze snapped to the mysterious newcomer, a tall, buff man who was concealed by a cloak, but his glowing sword illuminated the entire place, glowing even brighter under the night sky._

" _Who's that?" She asked her mentor, who only grimaced in return._

" _If he's here, then things are far worse than we thought them to be." Master Aizawa answered reluctantly._

" _Lord Toshinori Yagi, Head Knight of the Almighty Order." Mitsuki supplied. She lifted her hand. "Everyone, fall back!"_

 _The Dragoons shot her a confused look, but complied nonetheless. Lord Yagi nodded in appreciation, and with one swift move, the black sword fell out of the red-haired boy's grip and he fell to the ground, unconscious once more._

 _Momo finally breathed freely, the foul magic's stale stench gone now._

" _Give the boy medical treatment." The knight ordered. "He should be fine if you give him some purifying herbs."_

 _The potion masters acknowledged his advice and carried the boy off, and soon the knight was left alone with Mitsuki, Master Aizawa, Bakugou and herself._

" _I am the Chief of the village, Mitsuki. This is my son, and these two are my close advisors." She introduced them to Lord Yagi._

 _The three of them bowed in greeting, Bakugou even showing no sign of scowl on his face._

" _I think you already know who I am, but I will introduce myself regardless. I am Toshinori Yagi of the Almighty Order. It's my pleasure to meet you, Lady Mitsuki."_

 _Mitsuki shook her head. "No, it is our pleasure to make your acquaintance. Additionally, we must thank you for stepping in and helping us, Lord Yagi. If there is anything we can do to repay your kindness, please let us know."_

 _The bright, confident smile on Lord Yagi's face dimmed visibly. "About that…"_

* * *

" _I'm sorry to place such a burden on you." The blonde knight said sorrowfully as they trailed back through the forest._

" _Please, don't be, Lord Yagi. It will be our honour to guard it." Mitsuki reassured the man, putting a hand on his shoulder despite their size difference._

 _He seemed to relax slightly through the gesture, but he still grimaced. "If I had any other choice, I would take that route, but with the appearance of the All For One, I can't take any risks."_

" _I understand, we all do, and we swear on our lives that we will guard this secret with all of our might. Should you ever need to retrieve your sword, you will always be welcomed here, Lord Yagi." Mitsuki bowed formally, and a small smile formed on Lord Yagi's face._

" _I hope that will never be necessary again, now that it's sealed together with its counterpart. I just have one more request." He spoke seriously, and continued at Mitsuki's acknowledging look. "That boy… find him a place to stay, please."_

 _Mitsuki returned his look with an iron gaze of her own. "There's no need for you to worry, Lord Yagi. We will raise him as one of our own."_

 _Relief flooded the knight's face and he let out a long breath. "Thank you."_

 _Momo stepped up to Lord Yagi before they reached the settlement again. "Lord Yagi, if I may?"_

 _He nodded, gesturing for her to go on. "I would like you to take these resonance crystals. Because of many magic forms being able to cast illusions and such, this will be a sure-fire way of verifying that it is really you. It will respond to my magic, and to yours, as well as those in the immediate surroundings of the other crystal." She explained her point by handing one of the two pendants out to Lord Yagi, who took it with an interested look in his eyes._

 _The purple crystal glowed yellow and green, the patches of colour moving across its surface, the yellow dominating the green flecks._

" _The yellow represents your magic, a bright light magic. The green is my earth magic. It also shows the proportions of the magical powers to each other, as you can see." Momo went on. She stepped right next to Master Aizawa. "And now, my master's light magic is visible as a slightly darker shade of yellow, so even people with the same affinity will become distinguishable." She mumbled a spell under her breath, and the crystals stopped glowing. "These crystals will only start glowing again when they are in my vicinity. With that, you can be assured that you're not dealing with imposters either."_

 _She held out the second one to him as well. He glanced at it and furrowed his eyebrows. "Shouldn't you keep that one?"_

 _Momo shook her head. "I'm the one who created these crystals, so I will recognize my own creation right away. I want you to take both, in case something happens. Of course, I hope things will never come that far."_

 _Lord Yagi nodded understandingly and took the second crystal. "So do I."_

* * *

 _They saw the knight off after a large feast, but Momo couldn't help but feel uneasy about his departure. She really hoped they would never have to release the One For All and the All For One ever again._

 _However, the mystery of exactly who had commanded the All For One was still unsolved._

* * *

 _The redhead woke up again two days later, his memories slightly impaired but generally present. He spent an hour apologizing to Mitsuki between tears, but the woman merely let him cry and gave him a bone-crushing hug, something he was in desperate need of._

 _After confirming what happened to his own people, Eijiro Kirishima wept silently for the rest of the day, and he probably would have continued had Bakugou not stormed into his confinement room and dragged him out by the collar of his shirt._

 _Momo watched Bakugou shout at the boy about being such a pathetic man, and much to her surprise the insults seem to fire Kirishima up on the inside. His empty eyes lit up with blazing flames as he asked Bakugou to teach him to be stronger._

 _Bakugou was stunned into momentary silence, before a cocky grin spread onto his face. "Sure, Hair-For-Brains. Let the mighty Lord Explosion Murder teach you all about this world."_

 _Momo felt like she needed to point out that pretty much everything about that sentence was just wrong, but Kirishima began laughing, patting Bakugou on the back and telling him that that was a great joke, which only made Bakugou glare at the boy as if he had eaten the last dumpling._

 _Momo chose that moment to intervene, before things actually did get out of hand._

 _Over the next few weeks, the three of them became good friends, even if Bakugou would rather die than say it out loud. They all learned many things from each other, and Momo even created a new set of twin blades for Kirishima, made from a special alloy that was hardened in dragon flames._

 _The three of them formed a patrol unit with Mitsuki's approval, and Momo had never felt better before. She had family and friends here. She had a home here._

 _She couldn't ask for more._

* * *

 _Everything good comes with its equal of bad, much like the All For One and the One For All._

 _Momo remembered that inevitable life fact as she stood over the fresh corpse of some bandit they had come across during one of their patrols._

 _Kirishima and Bakugou stared at her wide-eyed, and she remembered that they themselves had never actually killed somebody else before, while she had. On numerous occasions, in fact._

 _Well, Kirishima did kind of, but it wasn't of his own volition._

 _The blood stained her shirt, weighing it down and making it stick to her skin uncomfortably._

" _We should find his comrades." She told her two friends. "There's no way he was travelling through this area alone."_

 _They nodded silently, and then they continued their search. The four other bandits were found soon enough, and Kirishima solemnly helped carry the corpses back to the village._

 _Momo knew it was hard for him, especially after what happened in the past, but he was determined to make up for it somehow. As for the morality of their situation… well, to survive in this world, you need to be able to step on your morals every once on a while._

* * *

 _One day, they met a travelling group of merchants in the forest, and Momo decided to talk things out since she didn't sense any malicious intent from them._

 _How wrong she was._

" _Excuse me, sir. We're afraid you're trespassing into our territory here. If you're on your way to the Southern Kingdom, you probably took a wrong turn somewhere." She explained in a friendly tone._

 _The man in the front of the first carriage gave her a sceptical look. "I don't see why I should listen to a bunch of children."_

 _Momo grimaced, but maintained her friendly demeanour. "Please, sir, we only want what's best for you. I'd advise you to turn around."_

" _Huh? You're advising me, little girl? You? Don't joke around. And for your information, we know exactly where we are. This is the Dragon Forest, right? The place where the legendary sword One For All is buried!" The man sneered, but Momo was caught off guard by what he said._

" _The legendary sword One For All?" She whispered to herself, but the man heard it somehow._

" _Haha, of course you dumb Western brats wouldn't know about it! The legendary sword that created the borders of the four countries, wielded only by the greatest heroes of legend, the One For All. It is said it has been hidden for many years, waiting for a new saviour to emerge when the time has come." The man cackled away, not catching on to the moment in which Momo's eyes widened._

 _Because she knew that that wasn't true. That was just some legend. But the fact that somebody had come this close to the actual sword unnerved her._

" _Now move along, kiddos, I'll give you the lesson for free."_

 _Momo clenched her fist by her side. No, she'd protect that sword with her life._

" _I'll ask you one last time, please turn around." She dropped her friendly tone, glaring at the man. "Otherwise I will be forced to resort to more drastic measures."_

 _When the merchant refused, she signalled Kirishima and Bakugou to attack. She will protect that sword. She promised she would. And Dragoons never went back on their promises._

 _Stepping over the corpses once they were done, Momo peered into their cargo boxes, her face paling when she saw the loads of poisoned food she found there. A letter from a count sealed the deal, confirming her newest suspicions._

 _The merchants were trying to get to their settlement, their home, and they were going to sell them poisoned goods, hopefully eradicating them, just so that they could seek out the sword._

 _Momo felt her heart harden, but she still told her teammates to bring everything back to village with them, where they'd present everything to Mitsuki._

 _They were going to hurt her family, her friends, her home. If that was what everyone venturing into the forest was going to do, then there was no reason to try to be nice to them._

* * *

" _Ah, you see, we were tasked to find the legendary sword, so if you'd let us pass…" The man had a charming smile, Momo would admit that, but it didn't cover his blatant lie._

" _Nice try." She muttered coldly, stepping through the puddle of blood that was spilling from his chest a few seconds later. "Nice try."_

* * *

 **AN: Here's the rest of the backstory, so that we can move on with the plot next time :) I know it's pretty long, and that I could've split it up into multiple chapters, but as I said I want to get back to the main plot asap, and additionally you've been spared of cliffhangers.**

 **Thank you so much for the bunch of reviews on the last chapter, and I hope you continue supporting me that way :)**

 **~Emi**


	12. On The Brink

_**XII. On The Brink**_

"Fuyumi."

Fuyumi stiffened at her father's voice. Hesitantly, she turned to answer him. "Y-Yes, father?"

Her father was sitting in his throne, slumped she noted, much in contrast to his usual straight posture. "What do you make of this?" He asked her gruffly.

There were visible dark bags underneath his eyes, and his mood had been worse than usual. In fact, it had worsened right after they received the news that Shouto went missing.

"I wouldn't know what to say, father." She answered meekly, not daring to make eye contact.

She could feel his cold gaze linger on her, but he didn't say anything, at least not immediately. Fuyumi took the moment of silence to calm herself mentally. When she had first heard the news, along with Sir Monoma's obvious fake report, she had nearly screamed out in joy.

Shouto had finally gotten away from here. He had finally found a way to escape the pressure his father kept putting on his small back, and there is nothing more she could have wished for.

Her father's anger, on the other hand, was a problem. A big one, too.

"I find it hard to believe that mere bandits could take on my son." King Enji grumbled to himself, not for the first time in the past few days. "So where the hell is he?"

His fingers tapped against the armrest of his throne impatiently, cursing under his breath. Fuyumi wasn't surprised at how far her father was willing to go to retrieve Shouto, but oddly enough he was having a harder time than he should be having.

A messenger timidly stepped into the throne room, and her father barely acknowledged the boy. "Your Highness!" The messenger bowed deeply, so much that Fuyumi worried he might topple over any moment.

"Make it quick and don't waste my time." Her father snapped rudely.

"O-of course, your Highness! I'm afraid that we still can't locate the forest witch! We've searched all over for her, but she's nowhere to be found."

King Enji's frown deepened, something Fuyumi thought to be impossible. "Obviously, you aren't searching well enough. If you can't find her, I'll go myself." He declared.

The messenger went paler than a sheet of bleached paper, furiously apologizing to the king.

"Anything else?"

"A-ah, yes, a man named Toshinori asked for an audience with you. We told him to leave at once, but he was very insistent on speaking to you."

Fuyumi took an unconscious step back when the temperature in the room oscillated rapidly. Her father's expression dimmed even more, and she was sure he was about to erupt like a volcano.

"Send him in." He commanded reluctantly, waving the messenger away with a stiff hand. Once the cowering boy had left the room, he dismissed Fuyumi as well.

She bowed and stepped out into the hallway, where her ladies-in-waiting were stationed.

Relief washed over her, relief that she wouldn't have to witness the disastrous conversation that was about to take place.

At the same time, she felt worried. Why was Lord Toshinori Yagi suddenly visiting?

* * *

"Toshinori Yagi. To what do I owe the pleasure?" King Enji greeted the frail blonde man who stepped into the throne room.

"King Enji." Said frail man bowed in response. "How have you been?"

The monarch pulled his lips into a thin line. "Don't make idle chatter. Tell me what you're here for. Is it money? Land?"

The former knight shook his head. "No, neither of those. Nothing of the sort, actually."

King Enji felt his patience being tested. "Then what?" He snapped rudely.

Lord Yagi sighed deeply. "I heard about your son's disappearance."

"And?" The king practically growled at the breach of the sensitive topic.

"I may have some clues about his whereabouts, but I can't guarantee them." The blonde man continued, digging through his pockets for something.

King Enji perked at the news, but didn't get his hopes up high just yet. A few moments later, Lord Yagi produced a glowing pendant from his pocket and held it out, so that the king could easily reach for it and take it.

"What is this?" He questioned while examining the peculiar crystal in his hand. "It's not reacting to your nor to my magic."

"It's called a resonance crystal. They come in pairs, and you can determine what kind of magic the people surrounding its twin have the highest affinity for." The frail man explained.

King Enji narrowed his eyes at him. "And what does this have to do with Shouto?"

"What colours do you see in the crystal?" Lord Yagi gestured towards it.

The monarch frowned, but replied nonetheless. "Some white, blue and orange. A few others as well, but they're hardly visible. I guess the yellow is most recognizable."

Yagi nodded. "It reflects other's magic based on their power and their proximity to the crystal. As you can see, the blob of orange and blue moves as one, with no clear separation between them. That person is relatively close to the crystal right now and holds significant power as well."

"Orange and blue… Fire and ice? Is that what you are trying to say?" King Enji redirected his gaze towards the former knight. "Why are you only bringing this to my attention now? And who has the other crystal?"

Lord Yagi stared at the crystal and frowned. "I… sent somebody to retrieve the One For All. I gave him the second crystal."

He paused as the atmosphere in the room grew heavier. "YOU DID WHAT?!" King Enji's voice bellowed, resounding and nearly bursting his eardrums.

"Something, no, somebody is moving in the shadows. Sir Nighteye is trying to determine exactly what it is, but until then I want to be on the safe side. If the worst comes to pass… We'll both need to pick up our swords again." The solemn tone of Yagi's voice made King Enji feel uneasy, but he put on a stern face.

He took a deep breath. "We'll discuss that later with the ministers and advisors. For now, let's go back to talking about my missing son."

"The crystals were given to me by the people who are currently guarding the One For All and the All For One. They would only start glowing when one of the crystals come into the vicinity of their maker." Lord Yagi established. "And since it started glowing yesterday, I can only assume your son has met with young Midoriya and accompanied him. There are many others around him as well, but none of the colours belong to the creator of the crystal."

The king quenched his fist, a low growl escaping his lips. "You better tell me exactly where this place is, or I will do something that will make the dissolving of your order look like a child's tea party."

Hesitation flickered across the man's sickly face. "I can't do that. Your men would get the wrong idea. I merely wanted to inform youthat your son is most likely safe."

"Who said I was sending my men? I'm going there personally to drag that ungrateful brat back home." He gritted out between his teeth.

"With the way things are currently… I don't think that's the best idea." Yagi stood his case, giving the king a determined look.

"The way things are currently? We haven't heard anything from the Eastern Kingdom yet, the situation in the Western Kingdom is still unclear, and I'm not even going to bother asking the Northern Kingdom. They are set on staying out of any of our affairs even if it kills them." The king scoffed. "Please, do specify exactly what you are referring to."

"There are many rumours circulating the capitol. One of them says that there's an army of terrifying dragons in the Western Kingdom, waiting to rain havoc all over the continent. That's the one I'm most concerned about." Lord Yagi admitted after a long stare-down.

King Enji grimaced, not for the first time that day. "You think there is actual merit to that rumour? I think it would be more plausible if they just found a group of illusionists."

"While that's a reasonable explanation, the Western Kingdom _is_ known for its dragons." Yagi pressed on. "And while I can confirm the Dragoon tribe would not do such things, there are still wild dragons in the valleys. If somebody managed to tame them…"

King Enji pondered over his words until realization hit him. "Say, Yagi… How do you know the Dragoon tribe in the Western Kingdom?"

The sickly man froze, a look of guilt on his face. "Ah, you see, I… uh… met them once while I was out on a mission!"

"You seriously need to work on your lying skills, Yagi." The King huffed, making a move to stand up from his throne. "I'm willing to bet my kingdom that I will find Shouto at this Dragoon tribe of yours."

"King Enji! You…"

The King stood tall next to the frail former knight. "You're coming with me, whether you like it or not. I'll get my men to look for a potion master for you." He paused, sending Yagi a chilling glare. "You are in no position to disobey my orders."

* * *

Ojiro slammed his fist against the wooden door.

They had made it, there was still time, they could make it.

Hagakure's skin was burning to the touch, but they found the potion master in the woods. The one without any ties to any of the kingdoms. The one that would surely take care of them.

He gritted his teeth together. Nobody was answering the door.

* * *

"Midoriya."

Izuku jerked at the voice. "Oh, Shouto, it's just you." He exhaled in relief.

Shouto frowned and settled down next to him. "Who else would it be?"

Izuku shrugged awkwardly. "Oh, you know…"

"I really don't." The other boy replied earnestly, to which Izuku merely sighed. Shouto was a dense wall sometimes.

"That aside," Izuku rested his chin on his knees, pulling himself into a ball. "What should we do?"

"You mean about the others? I guess we'll need to tell them sooner or later. To be honest, I still prefer later." Shouto looked off to the side, clearly not convinced by his own words.

"This is a bit messier than I thought it'd be." Izuku admitted with a grimace. "Especially the whole deal with Kaminari."

"It was the best thing Tsuyu and I could come up with at the time." Shouto grunted with a defensive tone.

"I know, I know. I would have probably done the same." Izuku sunk his face into his palms. "Ugh, this is not what I signed up for."

"I'm sorry." Shouto said seriously. "I have inconvenienced you far more than I ever intended to."

"Ah, please don't take that the wrong way!" Izuku jumped up and began gesturing wildly. "You've been a great help! We wouldn't have made it this far without you!"

"While I did help you out, I'm sure that somebody like you would have found a way around things somehow." Shouto sighed, also standing up. "Nonetheless, I'm glad I decided to join you. Thank you."

Izuku froze, staring at him. A part of him was afraid Shouto was going to shoulder the blame and leave, but relief washed through him in an instant at the sound of his words.

A smile found its way to his face. "No, thank you for joining us."

The smile faltered with Izuku's next thought. "There's something else I need to show you." He began digging through his pocket, pulling out the object in question.

"Isn't that…?"

Izuku nodded. "It's the pendant I received from Lord Yagi. I don't know why, but it's been glowing ever since our encounter with Momo yesterday evening." He let out an audible sigh. "It's never done this before."

Shouto folded his arms in front of himself. "I'm not too sure what to make of it either. Maybe we shoul-"

"Hey, you two!"

The two of them were torn out of their conversation by a rather enthusiastic voice. A vibrant head of red was coming towards them, with an equally vibrant grin on his face.

Hastily, Izuku stuffed the pendant back into his pocket.

"Good morning… Kirishima." He thought he remembered the name correctly, and when the redhead made no move to correct him, he patted himself on the shoulder mentally.

That would have been mortifyingly embarrassing.

"Midoriya and Shouto, correct?" The boy's bright aura never dimmed. "Momo told me you guys are really headed to the caves. Man you sure are crazy… However, that's not why I'm here."

Kirishima held out his hand. "Show me your weapons. You won't last long in the caves without the best of weaponry."

"Kirishima…" Shouto spoke up. "Have you ever been in the caves?"

"Nope."

Izuku blanched. "Then how can you tell us how it's going to be?"

"Well, Momo and Bakugou were there, so they told me some things about it. They also wouldn't lie about something like this." His cheerfulness thinned out towards the end of the sentence, a darker, more solemn tone shining through.

"Oh… uh… I see." Izuku answered hesitantly. Then he drew his short sword and held it out to Kirishima. The Dragoon took it and inspected it from top to bottom, then shook his head. "This won't do at all. You seriously need to ask Momo to give you a new weapon."

He handed it back to Midoriya, taking Shouto's sword next.

"Is Momo in charge of inventory or something? I thought she was more of the… executive type." Shouto asked.

"Oh, she is. She was actually raised as an assassin, but she's also really good at alchemy, so she takes care of our weapons." Kirishima supplied absentmindedly while inspecting Shouto's blade. "But she's not in charge of inventory. Somebody else does that."

"Alchemy?" Shouto raised a brow. "Now that's something I haven't heard of in a long time."

"Honestly? I thought it was more of a myth up till now." Izuku chuckled sheepishly. "I've only ever heard the stories and how the economy nearly collapsed at some point because alchemists were forging so much money. And I was pretty sure those were just made up as well."

"No, alchemy is real." Shouto answered with a frown. "I've even seen it myself once, but it is pretty rare nowadays."

"True, true." Kirishima nodded. "That's why we're so lucky to have Momo."

"Wait." Izuku interrupted them, a thought prodding his mind. "Does that mean that Momo learned alchemy within the village?"

"Is that so?" Shouto raised a brow. "I was pretty sure she was the chief advisor's student."

"Seems good enough." Kirishima commented after his inspection of the sword before handing it back to Shouto. "As for your questions, no and yes. But if you want details, you should probably ask her yourself. I'll take you to the workshop now."

Izuku went over the newly acquired information in his head, not missing the pensive frown on Shouto's face. He still seemed unsettled by what happened yesterday, and this Momo girl held one surprise after the other.

If she hadn't learned alchemy from anybody in the village, but was the chief advisor's apprentice, then how did everything fit together?

* * *

They arrived at the workstation shortly afterwards, meeting up with Iida and Kaminari, who were already there.

"Good morning, you two!" Iida greeted them energetically while Kaminari gave a short wave. "The two of you seemed really tired so we let you sleep a bit longer, I hope you didn't mind."

"Oh, please don't worry about it." Midoriya tried calming the paladin. "We're quite thankful, right Shouto?"

"Right." Shouto answered absentmindedly. His eyes had drifted to the black-haired girl who was currently giving Kaminari's rapier a sceptical look, and something began nagging him at the back of his mind, once again. She looked up, probably in search of the aforementioned blonde, but in the process they ended up meeting each other's gazes head-on.

Neither of them made a move to avert their eyes, locked in a standstill which seemed to last forever. He was still trying to figure her out, but it just wasn't working. Additionally, she was apparently an alchemist.

An alchemist, of all things.

In the end, she was the one to break eye contact first, calling out to the amnesiac of their party. The two shared a brief conversation about conductivity and how the mage was planning to use it in conjunction with his magic, which led to Shouto making note of two prominent factors.

Firstly, Kaminari still had a decent grasp on his abilities and techniques, which was to be expected.

Secondly, Momo was intelligent, incredibly so. Just by the few words she said about electricity, it was clear that she knew more about lightning magic than Kaminari himself did. At times the blonde stared at her blankly when she used a phrase he didn't understand, and with a sigh she elaborated and explained its meaning.

Shouto nearly chuckled since he knew what the blonde must be feeling like, having had a similar experience himself a long time ago.

And then, everything fell into place. All the random pieces of information that didn't add up suddenly did, resulting in a clear picture in his mind.

It should have been obvious. It was obvious. It was so obvious that Shouto had dismissed it immediately in his subconscious.

She brushed a stray strand of charcoal hair behind her ear, making the gesture he had seen a certain princess once make before pulling a long object out of her arm. Her black eyes scanned the newly-formed blade before she nodded to herself in satisfaction. A soft smile ghosted over her lips.

"Good morning!" A cheerful voice spoke up behind them, and without looking Shouto knew that it belonged to Ashido. It seemed the girls had joined them as well.

He tore his eyes off Momo's form, convinced of his conclusion. It would explain many things, how she knew about him, for example. At the same time, it brought up many questions.

If she really was the princess that plagued his memories, then what happened to her in the span of these past few years? He could hardly imagine what caused her resentment to their fathers as well as what caused her to be raised by an assassin.

Nor what caused her to come to a place like the Dragoon village when she was growing up amongst diamonds and pearls.

He decided to seek her out later and discuss things in private. For now, he'd focus on their group.

* * *

Even after their refreshing bath and Momo showing no hostile intent towards them, Kyouka still couldn't get herself to trust the girl. And now she wanted to inspect their weapons?

Mina took out her daggers without a second thought, handing them over to the black-haired girl with a big wide smile on her face.

Kyouka hesitantly exchanged glances with the rest of the group, wondering whether they should perhaps discuss things first now that they were finally reunited in completion.

Iida was the first one to catch her glance, flashing a reassuring smile at her.

Tsuyu shrugged lightly before pushing her way through to Midoriya, starting up a conversation with him.

"We heard about what happened during dinner yesterday." She stated, looking at the green-haired boy imploringly.

Midoriya let out a sigh, the deep circles underneath his eyes hinting at his lack of sleep. "Ah, yeah. We were going to talk about things later, after Momo is done here. She'll help us with the debriefing." He explained.

Kyouka raised a brow at that. "Will she be coming with us in that case?" She inquired sceptically.

"That's still to be discussed." Midoriya answered with a trace of hesitation.

"I see. I take it you received a lot of valuable information?" Iida cut in, hand on chin.

Midoriya nodded. "Yes, we have permission to enter the cave."

"Permission? We actually needed permission to do this?" Kaminari asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Yeah, but I was able to get us in." Midoriya chuckled nervously and began scratching the back of his neck. Something about his vagueness bothered her, but it didn't feel right pressing him for details.

Tsuyu's eyes narrowed at this as well.

"Man, I can't believe how well things are going!" Ochako grinned, seemingly the only one who truthfully felt cheerful about this. "After we find the legendary sword, I can final-" She stopped speaking abruptly, her grin fading. "I can finally what?"

* * *

Ochako went through life smiling, a good sense of optimism and faith in her own skills both as a mage and a fighter.

She told herself she would work hard and help support her family's business, giving them a good life. She would have been able to solve that particular problem by finding lost treasures along with the legendary sword, but she never thought further than that.

But now… she finally realized it. There was eight of them, and only one legendary sword. Only the legendary sword.

No additional treasures, nothing that could be converted into the money her parent's needed. While not all of them were here for financial purposes like her, it caused a certain conflict of interest.

In fact, now that she really thought about it, why were they even here to begin with? Why was Deku even searching for the sword in the first place?

They shouldn't be wasting their time thinking about conspiracy theories when there was such a huge hole in their fundamental reasons.

* * *

Tsuyu gulped at the silence. Everyone had a grim expression on their face, as if reality had just caught up to them.

She herself couldn't help but feel like things had been going too smoothly, from their numerous prison breaks to getting across the borders so easily.

Sure, she was in this whole ordeal for the sense of adventure and the travelling aspect, but she couldn't help but feel like she bit off more than she could chew.

Shouto's secret was safe with her, but there was a definite gap of knowledge within the group.

Shouto and Midoriya stood out too much, having conversed with one of the Dragoons the evening before. And now, Midoriya was clearly withholding information. There was another secret here, one she didn't know of.

Somehow, she felt betrayed. Left out.

Her eyes flickered towards Shouto, whose gaze seemed to be focused onto something in the distance. Quickly, she cast her eyes back to the ground.

Everyone was on edge, and there was nothing she could do about it.

* * *

What would come after this?

Tenya sunk into his thoughts, the question repeating over and over again in his mind.

Who would take the legendary sword? And what would that person do with it?

Actually, how did they even manage to find the legendary sword so easily? Wasn't it guarded by hard trials that only the most worthy of heroes and purest of souls could pass?

In the course of their travels, he hadn't thought about that. Not once. Why? Why hadn't he thought about something that trivial?

His eyes found themselves trained on the person who instigated this. Izuku Midoriya.

Tenya respected the boy for his keen intellect and analysing skills, but what had lulled him into carelessness? He took pride in his family name and his upbringing, but was this behaviour really befitting of somebody like him?

So why? Why?

Deep down, Tenya knew the answer to that question.

It was Midoriya's bright personality. It was his smile.

It was the way Midoriya reminded him of his older brother.

* * *

Mina had called Kyouka a worry-wart over this, but she wasn't sure anymore. Ochako's statement made her think about all this.

All in all, Mina trusted Kyouka. She trusted her judgement, and together they would even face hell if they had to. They always had each other's backs and each other's absolute trust.

But recently, over the course of the past few days, ever since they had joined this party, that had begun to change. There was a slight rift between them, one they both pretended didn't exist.

She swallowed, only to find her throat dry.

Mina liked their new friends. They were fun to be around and had colourful personalities. Laughing with them over the small things felt nice, liberating.

It made her want to do her best at starting over. Her lips pressed tightly together, a bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face.

So why were they here? The two of them could have just gone off to the next town and started honest lives, even without the money had hoped to get from treasures that apparently didn't exist. If they had been serious about it, they would have started from scratch. Instead, they were trying to take the easy way out by finding treasures.

The words from that morning, the ones she had so proudly told Momo, came back to her mind.

" _Even if we didn't find the legendary sword, we would have found many wonderful friends."_

Suddenly, Mina wasn't so sure anymore.

* * *

Denki was fully aware of the sudden shift in atmosphere. He fiddled with his fingers, taking a deep breath.

He hadn't actually thought they'd come this close to the legendary sword, so he didn't think too much about what to do should they actually find it. He was aware, that at some point their adventure would come to an end, and that he'd probably return to the Capitol empty-handed once that happened.

But... he actually enjoyed the past few days in the company of this group. However... it didn't change the fact that there was nothing solid holding all of them together.

He diverted his eyes. They were bound to fall apart sooner or later, weren't they?

* * *

Kyouka ignored the tension, her eyes fixated on Momo, who was watching the ordeal with an expressionless face.

The Dragoon girl wasn't even trying to hide the fact that she was observing them, but those empty, black eyes sent shivers down her spine.

They were the eyes of a hunter, observing its prey with interest. Even the bubbly redhead was looking there way, a calm and collected look on his face.

Her fingers twitched by her side.

* * *

Izuku was panicking. He didn't know how to deal with this situation.

He was stupid, stupid, stupid. Why did he insist on so many people accompanying him anyways? Wouldn't it have been simpler to just go on his own?

His heart ached at the thought of never having experienced any of the events from the past few weeks, but at the same time he couldn't help but think himself awfully selfish.

His fingers curled around the hem of his jacket.

He needed to say something, do something, anything.

Izuku glanced to the side, his wide, green eyes meeting Shouto's heterochromatic ones. Much in contrast to himself, Shouto seemed a lot calmer about this.

Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder, nearly giving him a heart attack.

* * *

Chiyo Shuzenji sighed, placing her palm on the forehead of the young man in front of her door, passed out from exhaustion, then glanced at the heaving girl in his arms.

She shook her head with a grimace. Why were the ones that found their way to her door always so young?

* * *

 **AN: Aaaand we're finally moving forward with the plot.**

 **Please leave a review if you enjoyed it!**

 **~Emi**

 **PS: If you're still here, and you want to see some art from the last chapter, check out my tumblr (verdandys-art). You just have to scroll down a bit ;)**


	13. Broken Glass

_**XIII. Broken Glass**_

The hand that landed on Izuku's shoulder roughly shoved him to the side, an angry blonde stepping between him and Shouto.

"What. The. Actual. Fuck." He gritted out between his teeth, sounding more like a growling dog than a human being. Ignoring the tense atmosphere in the group, he strode past them, slamming his fist down on Momo's workbench.

* * *

"Momo, you better tell me what the fucking hell you're thinking right now." Bakugou seethed.

The black-haired girl in question looked up at him, a tight smile on her lips. She already knew the next words that were going to tumble out of his mouth.

She was the one who had beaten them into him, after all.

"After all the bullshit you spout about relying on your team, you pull shit like this?!" His palm slammed against the workbench once more, the impact creating a deafening sound.

"Look, I know you're ups-" Her words were cut off by another slam of his palm against the weakening wood.

"Upset doesn't cut it, bitch! I'm fucking furious!" His red eyes left her form, seeking out the redhead standing next to her. "Do you have anything to say about this?! Anything at all?!"

Kirishima remained silent, averting his eyes.

"I see, so that's how it is." The disappointment in Bakugou's voice was evident, making Momo's heart ache in her chest. Fury blazed in his eyes as he spun around, giving each member of the travelling group a dark look.

"What makes you worthless bastards think you can just enter the caves? What makes you think you are allowed to touch those swords?!" He shouted at them, but nobody made a move to answer.

They had been at unease before Bakugou's interruption, but now things were worse.

"Bakugou…" She tried talking to him again, a forceful edge to her tone. She really didn't want to do things this way. "…why don't yo-"

"Don't you _dare_ tell me what to do." He spat, his back still towards her. "If you insist on talking, you can start by explaining what the fuck is going on!"

"Bakug-"

"I thought we had a deal! Nobody touches those two fucking swords!"

"Baku-"

"And where the fuck is the pendant?! Huh?! Shouldn't Lord Y-"

"KATSUKI BAKUGOU!"

His head whipped around to her at the speed of sound, his red orbs wide with surprise and disbelief. And hurt. Filled with so, so much hurt.

She felt like crying. Biting back her tears, she put on the mask. The mask of the cold assassin she fell back to when she found herself overwhelmed with a situation.

The mask of the heartless, rational thinker.

"Bakugou," she repeated, quieter this time around, "please don't discuss tribe secrets in front of strangers."

The hurt intensified in his eyes, quickly replaced by anger. "You're the one wh-"

She held up her hand, putting on the iciest glare she could muster. "Don't test my patience, Bakugou."

His eyes flickered back to Kirishima. "Are you really not going to say anything about this?"

"I'm with her on this." Kirishima replied reluctantly, casting his eyes downwards.

Momo felt her mask waver. She was driving this rift between them. Another voice reasoned in her mind that this was necessary. In a way, it was her own fault for not letting Bakugou know. Now she had to deal with the consequences, no matter how much she may have to give up for it.

She had her reasons for doing this.

She gulped. "They have the pendant. As for the other matter… it's a sensitive topic."

"She's right and you know it. Think before you act, okay?" Master Aizawa suddenly appeared next to the blonde, forcefully leading him away.

Bakugou followed, but not before shooting her a poisonous glare.

She saw his mouth pull into a grimace, but her master's unspoken words stopped her from going after them.

There was a much bigger problem at hand, after all. Turning back to said problem, her eyes met Shouto's and Midoriya's.

The green-haired boy was looking at her with wide eyes, regret and guilt dancing in them clearly.

"This is my fault." He whispered, judging by the movements of his lips.

Momo straightened her back, took a deep breath and approached the groups of eight, Kirishima trailing behind her.

"Please ignore that outburst. We will deal with him." She asked of them diplomatically, her voice calm and even.

The purple-haired girl was the first to respond, a sceptical frown on her face. "Yeah right, as if we can just ignore that. I think you better start explaining, missy."

"As I believe you overheard, this is confidential information." Momo replied tightly.

* * *

"Bullshit." The former thief scoffed. "We're clearly involved. Besides, your 'dear' friend said something about two swords. What's the deal with that?!"

"Kyouka!" The pink-skinned Halfling exclaimed, a horrified expression on her face. "You can't just…"

"I can't just what, Mina? Speak the truth?" Kyouka huffed in an offended tone.

Mina fell silent after that, mouth open but no words coming out.

"I thought so."

"She has a valid point, though." Kaminari spoke up, agreeing with her. "There's obviously something we don't know, and I think we should know it."

"You are only here for the One For All." Momo stated sharply. "Nothing more and nothing less."

Kyouka narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Only? So what's the other one?"

"To be honest, I didn't think the sword actually existed." Tsuyu remarked with a frown. "I thought we'd discover something else, but not the actual sword. Much less two of them."

"Isn't there only one legendary sword? I mean, there are others that are rumoured to hold nearly as much power as the One For All, but it was mostly just a legend. The Endeavour Of Hell, on the other end, is very real." Uraraka raised her voice.

* * *

Shouto flinched slightly at the mention of his father's sword.

Truthfully, he didn't believe in the sword's existence until not too long ago either, but with Bakugou's outburst there were too many cards on the table.

Additionally, Shouto didn't know anything about this second sword either. He could relate to the others about how it felt, being left in the dark.

Jirou was the most critical, she always had been. To Ashido, she was like a protective older sister, and he honestly couldn't blame her one bit for questioning everything.

Especially when they've cooperated so far. Sure, they spent a lot of time in a group, talking to each other, but those conversations were based on meaningless topics that really only showed a fragment of each other's personalities.

Jirou was blunt when she meant business. Like now, for example.

"It doesn't change the fact that you're withholding important information from us." Jirou had stepped up to face Momo, a mere metre separating the two girls.

The purple-haired mage leaned forward imploringly, while Momo regarded her with little interest. "I'm not obliged to tell you anything." Momo answered coolly.

"Clearly." Jirou gritted her teeth. "But Midoriya and Shouto get to know."

At the sound of his name, Midoriya twitched next to him. "Jirou, pleas-" He tried to reason with her, but she was having none of it.

"If she could tell you two, then she can tell us. Or is there something that makes the two of you special?" Jirou said stubbornly.

"Jirou." Iida reached between the two girls, gently pushing Jirou back. "I think that's enough."

Jirou slapped his arm away, an upset scowl directed at him. "No, it's not! Not until they tell us what's going on! Are you telling me you don't want to know?!"

"Kyouka, this isn't really the best way to deal with this…" Ashido spoke up, having found her voice again.

"Alright, fine, since the _assassin girl_ won't tell us anything, how about you two?!" She whipped her head around, fixating both himself and Midoriya in an icy glare.

"While I don't approve of Jirou's tone, I'll have to second that request." Iida admitted, eyes cast the side. "I… don't really know what to think about this right now."

Midoriya was almost hyperventilating, his skin as pale as a sheet of paper. "I… I…"

"There's no trust in this group." Tsuyu commented sadly. "There are too many secrets whirring around, being kept from each other."

"That's what I'm trying to take care of right now!" Jirou retorted hotly.

"Jirou, while I agree with you, this really isn't the best approach…" Uraraka reached out to put a calming hand on the other girl's shoulder, yet hesitated.

Shouto decided to take matters into his own hands, but before he could speak Momo intervened.

"I've changed my mind." She said coldly. The simple sentence was enough to garner the attention of the eight travellers. "I'm not letting you anywhere near the caves."

Kirishima stiffened behind her. "Momo, if this is bec-"

"It's not that. The One For All is a sword wielded by a legend, a hero. It is only for the most honourable of people, the most valiant and the most worthy. A selfless hero who will save all despite their personalities, beliefs and affiliations." The dragoon explained earnestly. "And none of those factors apply to any of you." She let anger and bitterness leak into her words, then extended her hand, pointing towards the forest.

"If you insist on bothering me further about this subject, I'll be forced to dispose of you. There is only one small factor stopping me from doing that right now, so you better make up your mind quickly. Leave it be, leave of your own accord or I will _make_ you leave."

Shouto swore he felt a chill run down his back, her voice colder than any ice he ever conjured up magically.

* * *

Nonononononono, this couldn't be happening.

Izuku felt light-headed.

If Momo turned on them… no. Everything would fall apart. He promised Lord Yagi. He _promised_.

His chest ached, almost all of his new friends looking at him with eyes filled with disappointment, hurt and distrust.

He fell to his knees, the shock, panic and disbelief accelerating his heartbeat and dampening his perception. Shouto was saying something to him, but the sound was drowned out by the hammering sound of his heart echoing in his ears.

He let one shake breath out.

And then everything went black.

* * *

Ochako gasped loudly, rushing over to where Deku had suddenly gone limp, slumping into Shouto's hold.

Her feet carried her over without a second thought.

"Deku!" She shouted, one hand on his forehead. The cold sweat left his skin tacky, random strands of green hair sticking to it.

"I think he went into shock." She concluded frantically.

"Do you have any spells that can help?" Shouto asked her.

She bit down on her bottom lip, shaking her head. "I specialize in combat, not healing."

"He's extremely pale." Ochako noted worriedly.

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious, at least not physically. Our potion master will take care of him."

Ochako glanced over her shoulder, meeting Momo's unreadable gaze. The black-haired girl nodded towards her redhead friend, who then proceeded to gently pick up Deku.

"I'll go with you." She decided on a whim, jumping up to follow Kirishima. "If you don't mind."

He exchanged a glance with Momo, who nodded curtly.

"Thank you." She bowed to both of them quickly, then sent Shouto an apologetic glance.

"It's alright." He dismissed her.

Gratefully, she trailed after Kirishima, both of them falling into silence.

After leaving the workshop behind, she decided to speak up. "Will he be alright?"

"Yes, he just needs some rest and some basic treatment. Our potion master will have him fixed up in no time." He told her reassuringly.

"That's good to hear." She replied, but here, with the immediate danger out of the way, her mind was flooded with thoughts.

Deku was her friend. She cared about him, just as she cared about all the other members of their group.

She couldn't believe she actually doubted him mere moments ago. He'd always been considerate of them, and so kind-hearted. So what if he had secrets of his own? Didn't everyone?

He never put them in immediate danger, so why did it matter? He was her friend, that was the only fact that should really be important.

They entered a hut, finding an empty room. Ochako frowned, looking to her left and right. "Where is the potion master?"

"Probably collecting herbs." Kirishima responded, settling the unconscious Deku onto a bed in the room. "He usually doesn't stay out too long, though."

"While that is a good reason for my absence, I merely dropped a scroll under the table."

Ochako jumped slightly at the sudden voice, swerving her head around in search of its source. She finally found it in the form of an overly large rodent climbing up the side of a desk, a scroll wrapped securely in his tail.

"Ah, Master Nezu." Kirishima greeted the rat. "I hope you don't mind us intruding."

"Of course not, Kirishima. How can I help you?" Master Nezu set the scroll down and scurried towards the bed, climbing across the furniture effortlessly.

"He passed out from shock and stress." The redhead explained.

"Ah, one of the guests that Momo let in, I see." The rat hummed. "I haven't had the pleasure of meeting any of them yet."

"Well, you do have a lot to do, Master Nezu."

"True, true." The rat nodded. "Come here and hold up his legs for me, will you?"

Kirishima complied. "Of course."

Master Nezu jumped over the bed, leaping back onto the desk and picking up a large, empty box. Balancing it over his head, he returned to Deku's bed.

"Here, use this."

Ochako watched him scurry to a set of drawers. "Is there anything I can do to help?" She asked once he passed her again.

Master Nezu paused to look up at her. "My dear girl, you look terrible. Why don't you lie down and rest for a bit?"

She blinked at him. "… Pardon me?"

He jumped up onto a vacant bed and patted on it. "You look like you're about to pass out yourself. Lie down for a bit, it's alright."

"But… Deku…" She tried to protest.

"Trust me, you'll feel much better after a quick nap, and by then your friend will be as good as new."

She grimaced, but walked towards the bed with hesitant steps. She was worried about the others, but she could feel the exhaustion washing over her.

* * *

Shouto watched Uraraka leave with Kirishima and Midoriya.

"Thank you." He said.

"You're in our care. For now, at least." Momo explained. "How long that will stay that way is entirely your decision."

She directed those words towards the rest of their group, who squirmed uncomfortably under her gaze.

"We don't need your care." Jirou muttered darkly. "If all you'll do is keep secrets from us, then there's no need for us to be here." With that, she grabbed both Kaminari and Ashido by their arms and forcefully turned around.

Throwing one last glance over her shoulder, she said, "You told us to leave it be or leave. Guess what? We're leaving."

Kaminari and Ashido looked at her with surprised expressions, but neither really put up a fight to get out of her grasp.

"Wait! Is this really how you want to deal with this?" Iida called out after them.

"You're free to join us, Iida." Jirou paused her steps, but didn't turn around. "You don't trust them either, after all."

The paladin stood straight as a rod, a mixture of shock, disbelief and realization in his expression, while Jirou, Kaminari and Ashido resumed leaving the premises.

Shouto clenched his fists at his side. How did this happen?

In the end, Iida was left staring off in the direction that the trio disappeared into, Tsuyu standing next to him, her wide eyes focused on the ground.

Momo was standing next to him. "There's nothing you can do about this." She said eventually.

Iida whipped around, narrowed sourly. "How can you just give up that easily?!" She shouted at her. "Don't you feel anything at all?"

"Feelings are a nuisance." She answered matter-of-factly. "And sometimes situations are so unsalvageable that the only option is to give up."

"You'll never know unless you try!" Iida retorted loudly. "Don't start spouting things about valance and selflessness if this is what your personality looks like!"

"What makes you think I didn't try?" Momo muttered bitterly. "Sometimes trying hard is not enough. You have to know when to give up."

The crack in her voice was audible. And it hit a bit too close to home for Shouto.

"Then go ahead. Try. Try all you want. It will all be for naught, but if you don't believe me, go after them!" She said those words with such ferocity and finality that Iida couldn't muster any answer.

Tsuyu put a hand on his shoulder. "Iida… I think you need to take a deep breath and calm down."

* * *

Ojiro blinked his eyes open, mind bleary but aware of the unfamiliar ceiling. On alert, he glanced to the side.

"Calm down, boy." The elderly woman sitting next to him told him soothingly. "You're still extremely exhausted."

Realization dawned on him. "You… You're the potion master."

"I have a name, you know? Younglings these days, no manners at all." She shook her head jokingly. "You may call me Lady Shuzenji."

He swallowed a clump in his throat. "Thank you for taking care of me, Lady Shuzenji. What about Hagakure?"

"I'm assuming you mean your friend by that. She's in a critical state, but she'll pull through eventually." Lady Shuzenji explained. "That was quite some nasty poison that was used on her. Do I want to know who or what was chasing you?"

Ojiro furrowed his brows. "How did you know we were being chased?"

"I've had my fair share of clients who are in your… business. You only get certain injuries from being on the run for longer periods of time." She went on solemnly.

"I see." He settled back into his pillow. "How can I repay you for what you've done for us?"

The potion master smiled sadly. "Why don't you two get better first before we discuss such matters?"

She put a caring hand on his forehead, gently closing his lids. "Sleep some more, boy."

* * *

Chiyo shook her head once the blonde boy's breath evened out again. Walking through her abode, she stepped out of her door and began chanting some simple spells.

The barrier around her property pulsed with life.

She frowned bitterly. The king's men were close. The smart move would be to pack up and leave, but she couldn't bring herself to leave the two teenagers in her care behind.

She could only hope the king didn't send any trackers after her.

* * *

Iida stormed off, albeit in a different direction than the other three, leaving only Momo, Shouto and Tsuyu behind.

The amphibian girl wordlessly took her leave shortly after, a conflicted grimace on her face.

"I wonder…" Shouto spoke up. "…are we cursed somehow?"

Momo rose her brow and looked over at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Why does everything we touch fall apart?" It was more of a statement than a question, but it was enough to make Momo's eyes widen slightly. Even without her genius mind, she knew where this was going.

"Care to clarify?" She prodded.

"Your kingdom is in shambles. This entire situation is in shambles. My friends are in shambles. Your friends are in shambles. It has to be some sort of curse." He shrugged half-heartedly.

She pulled her lips into a thin line. "I've seen real curses. They are much, much worse."

"Then I guess we were just born with the worst luck imaginable. I wonder if all other royal heirs also had to go through this bullshit."

"I hope not." Momo sighed. She closed her eyes in resignation. "What gave me away?"

"Alchemy."

"Alchemy?"

"Alchemists are pretty rare to begin with. And then to stumble upon one whose features match up perfectly with the supposedly dead princess? It's almost too obvious." She imagined he would be smirking if they were in any other situation.

"I see."

"Now, before we change the subject completely," he took a deep breath, "When Midoriya wakes up, will you tell us about that second sword?"

Ah, right. Bakugou had opened his mouth a bit too widely this time around.

"Tribe secret." She replied dutifully. "Unless explicitly specified, nobody was ever supposed to know about it."

"I… see."

* * *

After that, Shouto headed towards the tent Momo told him the potion master was stationed in.

They parted ways rather unspectacularly, just as their conversation had been.

It was as if all his thoughts and random questions drowned each other out, leading to him not really finding anything out in the end.

He let out a frustrated sigh, running his hands through his hair.

On an impromptu whim, he decided to drop by the hut they had spent the night in, the small spark of hope that either Kaminari or Iida would be there still burning within him.

Like a bad joke, he encountered Iida just as the paladin closed the door behind him, his belongings strapped across his back.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, before Iida suddenly bowed. "I'm sorry." He said. "I don't think I can stay here."

Shouto gulped. "Iida, are you sure?"

"I am. I couldn't trust Midoriya and you, despite the fact that I call myself your friend." He grimaced, looking at his palms. "I'm from the honourable Iida family. What I did… was unacceptable."

"You didn't do anything." Shouto pointed out, confused.

"Ah, but that's the problem, isn't it? I didn't do anything, when I should have done something."

"Iida, nobody blames you." Shouto tried reasoning with him. "Neither me nor Midoriya."

"That doesn't matter." Iida clenched his hands into tight fists. "Despite looking up to both of you, I didn't hesitate to doubt you two when you were put in the spotlight. I… I am a horrible friend."

"Anybody would have done the same in your position."

"Perhaps, but that Momo girl was right. We can hardly call ourselves worthy of the One For All. It would be better… for us to just give up." Iida looked off to the side.

"Iida."

"This is for the best. I've strayed off from my original objective anyway. I haven't contacted my family in quite a while, as well. I've made up my mind." The paladin told him with a shaky smile.

Shouto grimaced. "You really, really don't need to go this far."

"I don't know what's going on, at least not the details. I was upset at first, but I also understand that everybody has their own secrets. At the same time, I really do value my friendship with all of you."

"Then stay." Shouto insisted. "You don't have to leave."

"I'm afraid that that's not going to happen. I hope you understand. Apologize to Midoriya on my behalf." Iida's smile grew sad.

"You should just go and apologize yourself. At least say goodbye to him yourself." Shouto pressed on. "I already have to tell him that the other three left."

"You have a strong heart and mind, Shouto. Stronger than mine."

"That's not tr-"

"I'm sorry."

* * *

It was an odd sensation, just standing there and watching him leave. Shouto knew he should have stopped Iida, just as he should have stopped the others, but a small voice in his mind reminded him that he could follow Iida's thought process.

His body felt numb as he just stood there, waiting for the world to move on.

* * *

"Momo, leave. I don't have anything to say to you."

"Bakugou." Momo tried for the umpteenth time. "Please, hear me out."

"I heard you loud clear." He grunted. "Remember shouting at me?"

"I said I was sorry."

"Ha! Sorry for what? For being a total bitch?" Bakugou sneered at her, his red eyes almost glowing in the darkness of the cave.

The cave he always came to when he was upset, lovingly dubbed the 'sulking cave'.

"For everything." She told him, pouring every bit of sincerity she could into her words.

"Kirishima came by just now. I told him to fuck off." He said. And Momo knew it was bad. She had screwed up badly this time.

He was referring to them by their names. Her heart sank. He never referred to them by their names, his stupid nicknames were the closest thing to endearment they'd ever get out of him.

He continued speaking. "The same goes for you. Kindly fuck off, _please_."

* * *

"He's right. It's a curse." Momo mumbled solemnly, staring at the reflection of the moon in the water. "Don't you agree, Tsunami?"

The water dragon gave her a scrutinizing look. "This is the first time you've gotten into a fight this big." Tsunami's soothing voice washed over her. "But I wouldn't go as far as calling it a curse."

Momo stretched out her feet, dipping them into the cold water. "You think so? I can't help but agree with him. Everything really is in shambles." She wrapped her arms around herself. "Master Aizawa says he understands why I did what I did, but I know he's disappointed in me."

She exhaled loudly. "Kirishima avoided me just now."

Tsunami hummed lowly, nuzzling Momo with her snout. "They care about you, just as much as you care about them. You hurt each other. It will take a lot of time to heal a wound like this."

"Do you really think I can fix this?" She croaked out, her vision becoming blurry.

Tsunami nodded in confirmation. "When something breaks, you just have to put it back together again. And if you do it correctly, it'll be stronger than it was before."

Momo absentmindedly began to stroke the dragon's snout. "Thank you, Tsunami. For always being here for me."

"I don't like seeing you down like this. I wish you'd smile again. You have a very pretty smile."

Momo laughed dryly. "For that, I'd need a reason to smile."

* * *

She didn't expect to see him on her way back.

"Shouto."

He was sitting at the shore of one of the adjacent lakes, looking out into the distance.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him.

"Couldn't sleep." He answered curtly. He turned his eyes to her. "What about you?"

She contemplated giving some kind of excuse, but he was also the person who, by some strange twist of fate, could relate to her more than anybody right now.

"Same." She opted to answer. "Master Nezu told me Midoriya should be fine by tomorrow."

"Yeah, I heard. Uraraka is pretty relieved as well. Tsuyu too."

Their conversation grew stale.

"Let's both do our best." She spoke up after a lot of thought.

Shouto raised a brow at her. "At what?"

"At fixing our own messes."

He stared at her wordlessly, his wide, heterochromatic eyes catching the moonlight. Then he spoke. "Do you really think that's still possible?"

Truthfully, she wasn't sure. But... Nothing was okay. She couldn't leave things like this. "Your friend... he was right. I give up too easily. I... I don't try hard enough, at least not when it comes to the things that really matter."

"Momo!" Kirishima suddenly stumbled out from between the bushes. "Momo! It's an emergency." He told her urgently, handing her a cloak and her mask.

Momo whirled around immediately, slinging the cloak over the shoulders. "We'll continue this conversation at some other time." She told him quickly before following Kirishima into the forest.

* * *

Like a whirlwind, she was gone again, leaving him behind with nothing but confusion. Shouto was still staring at the spot she occupied, her heartfelt words ringing in his ears.

* * *

"Give me the details."

"Our last patrol group hasn't returned yet. They reported suspicious movements in the woods, but we lost all contact with them after that." Kirishima informed her.

She grimaced. That couldn't mean anything good. All of their personal issues would have to wait, at least until this problem had been taken care of.

"We'll meet up with the next patrol group, then split into groups of two. I want the entire forest searched, but if anything seems suspicious, even the slightest thing, I want you to exercise extreme precaution. Everything gets reported straight back to me."

Kirishima nodded. "I'll relay it to the others, you head to the meeting point for now. We'll follow shortly after."

She confirmed things with him, then they headed in different directions. The meeting point was at the centre of the forest, close to the tallest tree in the forest as well as close to the path leading through it.

Momo landed on the ground in a crouch, looking out for any suspicious movement or any sign of the missing patrol.

She clicked her tongue in disappointment when she was greeted by absolute silence.

"Excuse me, miss, could you help me out?"

Momo turned around, looking for the owner of the monotonous voice that came out of nowhere. A cloaked man stood behind her, tufts of unruly indigo hair visible in the pale moonlight, peeking out from beneath his hood.

Everything about him screamed suspicious. She narrowed her eyes at him. "That depends on whether you can give me a believable reason not to gut you here and now."

* * *

 **AN: Hmmm, I wonder who that person could be? Hm? Hm? Hmmmmmm? ;)**

 **I accidentally misspelled 'Kaminari' as 'calamari' once. Now I really want calamari. Calamari with fries and tzatziki.**

 **Also, I changed the description. I'm not sure about it yet, though...**

 **Leave a review? Please?**

 **~Emi**

* * *

 **[Edit 08-07-18: Apparently, I'm a total idiot. I went over the last seven chapters and fixed all continuity issues regarding Kaminari's lost memories. They consist of roughly four weeks now.**

 **Additionally, I changed some minor conversation details, but it doesn't affect the plot too much.]**


	14. Sing Me A Lullaby

**XIV. Sing Me A Lullaby**

Mina watched the small fire with a grim expression. Kaminari was wrapped up in a thin blanket, snoring away on her left.

She let out a sigh and propped her chin on her hand.

"Was I wrong?" Kyouka asked her, her dark eyes reflecting the oranges of their light source.

Mina shifted uncomfortably. "I think all of us were wrong."

"Are you mad at me?" The purple-haired girl turned her head to face Mina.

Mina shook her head, wrapping her arms around Kyouka and hugging her tightly. "Don't worry, I'm not mad at you. I'm just… confused."

Kyouka nodded numbly before burying her face in her palms. "What have I done?"

It was more of a statement than a question, sounding borderline pathetic. Mina remained silent as she gently stroked her Kyouka's hair.

"They did so much for us… And I was _so selfish_ …" Kyouka's words were muffled by her hands, but Mina heard every one loud and clear.

"Sometimes… Sometimes things don't work out in life." Mina offered lamely.

The purple-haired girl scoffed loudly at this. "In our case, things never worked out." She muttered bitterly, looking up at Mina. "And the one time things started looking up, I screw everything up."

"You weren't the one that screwed up." The pinkette said softly.

"Yes, yes I was. Me and my trust issues."

"Get some sleep, and we'll talk about this tomorrow morning." Mina sighed, readjusting the thin blanket draped over Kyouka's shoulders. "You'll have a whole different outlook on life after some rest."

Kyouka's bottom lip trembled, making for the opposite of the girl who had furiously shouted at their party earlier that day.

* * *

Shouto remained at the riverbed, staring out into the distance. After Momo's sudden appearance and equally sudden disappearance, he was left alone with his thoughts once more.

His thoughts that now drifted back to the black-haired girl in question.

Sure, he knew who she was now – but much to his surprise, it changed absolutely nothing. The longer he thought about it, the lesser the impact of her past became. All those sleepless nights and haunted dreams suddenly seemed like nothing more than a cheap joke, and he couldn't help but feel somewhat… cheated of something.

In his mind, he had connected her words and actions to so many different things, but now they had all lost their value.

When the Western Kingdom's situation seemed to worsen, he told himself that she would have prevented it.

When he saw the villager's poor living conditions, he told himself she would never have let it happen. That she wouldn't have wanted it.

A cold breeze swept across the lake, sending a chill across his skin.

He had projected her onto his own thoughts, because he had admired her in some kind of way. She was smarter than him, kinder than him, livelier than him.

He had wished he was more like her. He had wished he could smile as carefree as she could.

She left such a large impression on his younger self that he had made her out to be something she wasn't.

But…

Momo wasn't that little girl anymore. He hadn't seen her smile even once since coming here, and their interactions were mostly hostile.

There was a disconnect between the young girl in his mind and Momo.

He didn't know anything about her except for the fact that she used to be a princess.

His heart clenched. Essentially, they were strangers.

There was no way he could say what she would or would not have done. How could he, when he hardly even knew her? He had no right do make such claims.

He let out a low groan, running his fingers through his hair.

"You shouldn't be here."

Shouto snapped his head up, looking for the source of the thunderous voice. He furrowed his brows at the sight of the ever so still water in front of him, as well as the lack of movement in the trees and bushes around him.

"Up here, boy." The voice sounded again.

Hesitantly, Shouto's eyes trailed upwards, until they met stark white eyes the size of cart wheels. No, probably bigger than cart wheels.

"You look very surprised to see me." The imposing dragon mused as it slowly lifted its head and tilted it to the side. "I don't believe we've met yet."

Shouto, momentarily stunned, opened his mouth to say something. "Um…"

"The polite thing to do is to introduce yourself, boy." The dragon continued. "But this once, I will go first. You may call me Fubuki."

"…Shouto."

"Hmmm, Shouto… A good name, yes." The dragon nodded, at least Shouto assumed that was what the gesture was supposed to be.

And Shouto vaguely recalled Iida saying the same thing to him, a long time ago. Iida… Where was he right now?

"…why did you say I shouldn't be here?" He asked, still perturbed by the dragon's presence.

Fubuki leaned further down, paused, then sniffed him. "You're an outsider. You don't smell right."

"I… don't smell right?" Shouto reiterated.

"Yes, I can't really explain it… That aside, though…" The dragon trailed off, quietly studying him with an eerie gaze. "You use ice magic?"

Shouto raised his brows. "You can tell?"

"Of course I can." Fubuki huffed. "I'm an ice dragon, after all."

Shouto wasn't sure how to respond, so he decided to not say anything, hoping the dragon would go on.

Fubuki stared at him expectantly for some time, then let out a long sigh that resulted in all the trees in the vicinity swaying. "You don't talk much, do you?"

"…"

The dragon shifted his gaze, looking past Shouto into the forest behind him.

"Lady Momo was here just now, wasn't she? There was a commotion in the settlement just now, so I'm guessing that's where she went."

"Can I ask you something?" Shouto asked suddenly.

The dragon hummed thoughtfully. "I'm feeling generous today."

"… What's she like?" He surprised himself with the question that slipped past his lips. After his self-degrading thoughts, he vaguely recalled the words Momo said before she left.

That they'd both have to try their best, and that they couldn't give up on the things that mattered. For the most part, Momo masked her emotions and intentions, but those few sentences… were probably the only sincere things she had told him since he came here.

"Lady Momo? She's too kind to us. Honestly, we don't deserve her care." Fubuki's words caught him by surprise. "The entire tribe takes care of us with all their heart, but Lady Momo is something special. When I first saw her, I thought she was a princess of sorts."

It was clear that Fubuki was joking, but Shouto felt the urge to point out that she _was_ a princess.

"She always put our well-being over hers. Even on the days with the worst kind of weather, she'd come out to check on all of us, and sometimes when she had time, she'd tell us stories she'd heard or read somewhere." The dragon went on. "Oh, let me tell you about the time she convinced Bakugou to…"

* * *

"I heard there was an emergency."

Everyone present stood a little straighter after the arrival of the chief advisor.

"Master Aizawa," Kirishima spoke up. "It's about Momo."

Aizawa glanced at the redhead. "I figured as much. Where is she?"

"That's the thing." Kirishima sighed. "We don't know."

At this the chief advisor raised a brow. "What do you mean, you don't know?"

"I told her to wait for us here, but when we got here, she wasn't." The boy explained, clearly frustrated.

Aizawa pulled his lips into a thin line, then stepped past the patrol group to inspect the area. There was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Not even the soft scurries of forest animals.

Next to one of the trees, there were two untouched indents that would probably match up with Momo's feet.

But nothing else.

He turned back to Kirishima. "Any news about the missing patrol?"

Kirishima shook his head dejectedly.

"I see." Aizawa muttered in response. "Kirishima, take the men back to the village. I'll take things from here."

Kirishima's eyes widened. "Are you sure, Master Aizawa?"

He nodded as he slipped his goggles over his eyes. "Make sure nobody leaves or enters the village in my absence."

"Of course, Master Aizawa."

Once they were gone, he let out a long breath. It was hardly noticeable, but somebody cast a spell here recently. He could only hope it was Momo, but her absence suggested the opposite.

If that meant that Momo was forced to flee, it'd only be logical for her to draw the perpetrator away from the village – but if that was the case, why were there no signs of a struggle? Momo didn't hesitate to engage in close combat, on the contrary, she excelled in it.

This didn't add up. Not at all.

There was one more possibility, but he really, really hoped that wasn't what had happened.

But then again, Momo's luck had taken a rather large dip recently, her fall-out with Kirishima and Bakugou certainly not helping.

Could it really be? Could it really be that Momo fell prey to her biggest weakness?

Aizawa clenched his fist. He had to find her.

* * *

The first thing he heard was the dripping sound of liquid hitting the ground. Drip. Drip drip. Drip.

His eyes followed the pool of crimson up to its source, or rather sources, and the person standing over them.

"Momo." He said softly, approaching her. "Momo, it's me."

She turned to him calmly, her face a blank slate. "Master."

His gaze went back to her blood-covered hands, then to the gaping wound in the chest cavity of one of the bodies on the ground, then up to meet her eyes.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"I saw a suspicious man near the meeting point. Upon him fleeing the scene, I followed. I considered calling for back-up but decided to pursue the man instead. Then he suddenly disappeared." She recounted for him. "When he disappeared, I saw them on the ground."

Aizawa narrowed his eyes. "Why did you open the corpse?"

Momo broke eye contact at that. "I saw something sticking out of his stab wound. I… I decided to remove it."

"What was it?" He inquired sharply. "What did you pull out?"

Hesitantly, she showed him the object in her palm. He nodded gravely upon seeing it.

"You did well." He murmured, pulling her into a hug. "You did well."

"Thank you." She breathed out, the words muffled by the fabric of his coat.

* * *

Shouto woke up the next morning, although the term 'morning' was kind of pushing it. After listening to Fubuki's stories for what seemed like forever, he still had no idea who Momo really was. This was mostly due to the dragon's abysmal storytelling abilities, but he couldn't get himself to stop the magical beast, because Fubuki spoke with such genuineness when describing the deeds the dragoons did for him and his kind.

The swordmage looked around the room, briefly having forgotten that he was the only one left.

He pulled himself out of bed, blinking at the few rays of sun that streamed through the small window.

As he got dressed, he decided to drop by Master Nezu's to check on Midoriya, hopefully either Uraraka or Tsuyu would be there as well, maybe even both.

He'd have to tell Midoriya about what happened.

His hand rested on the doorknob as he steeled resolve. He'd do his best.

The dragoons were already bustling about, ignoring his presence as he walked through the village. Soon enough the medical tent was in view, and he could already make out a familiar tuft of green hair sitting in front of it from the distance.

Midoriya turned his head to glance over his shoulder, greeting him with a wry smile. "Good morning, Shouto."

"How are you feeling?" Shouto asked hesitantly.

"Terrible. You?"

"Like shit."

"That sums it up as well." Midoriya sighed. "I guess I was in over my head. Where are the others now?"

Shouto grimaced. "Tsuyu and Uraraka are around here somewhere. The rest… I'm sorry."

"Ah. I see." The green-haired boy said in defeat. "It's not your fault."

"Please don't blame yourself, either, Deku."

The two of them turned around, finding Uraraka standing behind them with an armful of food. Tsuyu was standing a bit further in the back, a large canister settled in her hands.

The brunette mage stepped forward and handed them each a loaf of bread. "I know things look bleak right now, and yesterday was rough on all of us… but…" She inhaled sharply. "But we can't let that stop us."

"Ochako is right." Tsuyu spoke up. "And the only way we'll get anywhere right now is if we talk things out." The frog girl put the canister down. "And I mean talk about everything."

She passed everyone a cup as they settled into a circle. Well, it was a square, since there were only four of them, but a circle sounded better in Shouto's mind. It created the illusion that there were more people present.

"I'll go first." Uraraka announced. "I was… aware that there were things that I wasn't being told, but I didn't mind. I considered, and still do, everyone my friend. But… my main objective, when I started out on this journey with Deku, was to find resources for my family to live a better life."

She paused and furrowed her brows. "I loved our adventures so far. They were fun, and things I'd never have done on my own. And I can put my goals aside for the time being when we're this close to fulfilling Deku's goal. But… I… would like to know exactly what we're doing. I know we're looking for the legendary sword, but now that it's actually within reach, what's going to happen?"

Midoriya listened to her words intently, then fiddled with his fingers. "I should have taken everyone else into consideration." He said dejectedly. "I'm sorry, Uraraka."

She shook her head. "Don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong, you were so kind and accepting to all of us… And we just… doubted you."

"But even so, I was the instigator of this mess. I'll make it up to you two." Midoriya clenched his fists determinedly. "I'll tell you everything. Latest after still sticking with me after everything, you deserve it."

"Before we get to that, I just want to say something." Tsuyu interrupted, drawing the attention to herself. "I'm not going to lie, I was upset. I felt… like you didn't trust us. I know trust is something that isn't earned easily, but I'd like to think… that we had earned each other's trust."

Tsuyu looked at the ground. "And that thinking was hypocritical. How could I possibly think something like that when I was the one who came up with the plan to tell Kaminari we found him in the woods? I was the one who suggested we integrate him into the group based on a lie." She sniffled. "And yesterday… Yesterday… I should have spoken up. Said something meaningful. Not just…"

Midoriya held up a hand. "It's alright. I understand."

"But I don't." Uraraka frowned. "What was that about Kaminari?"

"I'll explain when it's my turn." Shouto cut in. Tsuyu had done enough already.

She glanced over at him, a hint of gratitude in her eyes.

Midoriya took this as his queue to talk. "Shouto already knows this, and I know it's not fair towards any of you that he was the only one to hear the whole story." He took a deep breath.

"In the village I grew up in, I met a man. He would tell me the greatest stories about heroes fighting off evil forces, and I would visit him frequently, always wanting to hear more of his magnificent tales. I was born without magic… so I always assumed that such a life was out of my reach. That man used to be a proud knight of our kingdom, and I… I wanted to be just like him. He was already past his prime, weakened due to a certain battle long ago, but his heroic spirit still burned brightly."

Midoriya smiled wistfully. "After I begged him long enough, he gave me basic combat training. He put me through hell, but every minute was worth it. But then… one day… our neighbouring village was attacked all of a sudden. That man picked up a sword and went there to fend them off, but he only barely managed to defend himself and the village. After that, he entrusted a very important mission to me, and made me promise not to tell anyone."

Uraraka was listening wide-eyed, her hands covering her mouth. Tsuyu held a clear grimace on her face.

Midoriya went on. "Evidently, I've already broken that promise, but I guess I'd have to have told at least the person here that I was sent by him. Anyway, he gave me a pendant," Midoriya fished the glowing pendant out of his pocket, "and told me to find its owner. He gave me vague directions, with one destination: the Great Caves past the Ice Lakes. There, I would find his old sword – the One For All."

He pulled his lips into a tight smile. "At first, I was going to do this alone, but along the way I made so many friends and ended up inviting them along without thinking about the consequences. I figured the task would be easier with more people at hand. Eventually, we got here, and I found the owner of the pendant. And now… we're here."

"I never would've imagined… But I thought that the legendary sword had been hidden for decades, or even centuries…" Uraraka remarked.

Shouto decided it was his turn to talk. "That's probably because of my father." He sighed.

"Your father?" The brunette asked.

"Yeah. You see… I'm actually… King Enji's son." The only person in their little round who didn't know was Uraraka, so he was primarily addressing her now. "My father is kind of obsessed with power, so he probably made sure the Endeavour Of Hell was more prominently featured. Even I wasn't sure the One For All existed until Momo's side of the story filled in some of the holes. The thing is, there was a knight in our kingdom, who led an order – the Almighty Order. The order accepted knights from all across the continent and was praised endlessly. But one day, they disbanded, and their leader was pronounced dead." Shouto paused.

Uraraka gasped. "Don't tell me…"

"That man was the same one from Midoriya's village. I don't know to what extent my father manipulated information, or whatever his reasons for that might have been, but I know for sure that everything ties together right here. In this village. I don't believe in fate, or in miracles, but… that day, the day we met in the forest… that was the day I ran away from the capitol. What if… what if I hadn't decided to do that? I'd be marrying a princess from the Eastern Kingdom now, and all of you would probably be dead. Kaminari would never have been sent to capture me, and he'd still be living his flamboyant life in the Capitol."

The weight of the mere coincidence that influenced everything hung in the air, a minute of silence passing.

"I still have a few questions." Uraraka rose her hand.

"Shoot."

"What exactly happened to Kaminari? And why would we all be dead without you?"

Shouto exhaled, then proceeded to explain everything regarding Kaminari. Uraraka nodded slowly.

"As for the other thing…" Shouto paused. He hadn't actually intended on saying that out loud, but it was too late to back out now. "The only reason Momo didn't kill us in the woods was because… she recognized me."

"You know her?" Tsuyu asked in surprise.

No, he didn't. He was aware of that now. But… "I met her once, a long time ago. She has a very sharp memory, and I don't exactly have what you'd call a forgettable appearance."

"But… isn't she an assassin? How'd you meet her in that case?" Uraraka tilted her head to the side.

"She wasn't always an assassin. As for how she became one, I don't know either." He admitted with a sigh.

"That… was a lot to take in." Uraraka rubbed her forehead. "It must've been hard for you to talk about these things. Thank you." Her voice was laced with genuine gratitude, and surprisingly it made Shouto feel slightly better.

In fact, after laying out everything to them, he kind of felt like a burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

He felt as if he could stand a bit taller now.

* * *

"Excuse me."

All four of them turned their heads towards the medical tent's entrance, where a tired Kirishima was holding up the flap of the door.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but you kind of chose this location to hold your heart-to-heart yourselves…" he explained sheepishly.

Shouto begrudgingly had to admit that he had a valid point. None of them even thought about checking whether anyone was still in the tent or not, so ultimately, it was their carelessness.

"But don't worry! I won't tell anyone, you have my word." The redhead reassured them quickly. "I… I was just curious about something."

"Yes?"

"Well… You said you met Momo once when you were younger, right? What… what kind of person was she?" Kirishima's question held weight to it, his eyes lowered the ground.

Just that night, Shouto had asked the ice dragon the same question. But coming from the other side.

"She… she was somebody I respected." He finally opted to say. It was the truth but didn't reveal too much on her part. He assumed that she kept her true identity secret when she started her new path of life.

"You know…" Kirishima looked up, fixating all four of them with his fierce red eyes. "We always do what we think is best for everyone, oftentimes neglecting the opinions and feelings of the ones we're trying to protect. We don't mean too, but we still end up making those mistakes. And in the end… we end up hurting them."

Her curled his fingers into a fist and put it to his chest. "But it's not too late to fix it." He finished solemnly.

The dragoon's words resonated with all of them, and in that moment Shouto decided on something. It was probably the most stupid thing he had ever done, but now was the time to do this.

He stood up, newfound determination welling within him.

He sincerely hoped he wasn't going to die.

"Kirishima."

"Y-Yes?" The redhead watched him with confusion.

"Thank you. Let me return the favour." He stated steadfastly. "Show me where Bakugou is."

* * *

Izuku wondered whether Shouto had finally gone mad.

If their faces said anything, so did everyone else.

"Excuse… me?" Kirishima tried smiling shakily. "Did you just…"

"Yes. I want to see Bakugou." Shouto repeated full of conviction, as if there were no other option.

"Well… I mean… you can try, but he probably won't talk to you."

"That's alright, I'm not planning to talk to him." Shouto placed both his hands on Kirishima's shoulders, a serious glint in his eyes.

"I'm going to punch him in the face."

Shouto had clearly lost any inkling of common sense. Izuku pushed himself between the two of them, panic welling up inside him.

"Shouto! You can't ju- Have you lost y- Are you stupid?!" He shrieked.

"Yes, I am." Shouto replied without hesitation. "But sometimes we need to make stupid decisions to remind ourselves what the smart ones are."

"D-Dude, you can't be serious, right? He's kidding, right?"

Izuku wished he was kidding, but it looked like Shouto was dead serious about this.

"From what I can tell, Bakugou is acting like a spoiled child right now, and the only two people who usually reason with him can't right now, because they got into a fight. A fight that is partially my fault. Had we never shown up here, you would never have had any reason to fight." Shouto explained evenly.

"Which is why I am going to go up to him and knock some sense into him right now."

"While you're clearly suicidal," Kirishima teared up slightly, "you have to be one of the bravest and manliest men I've ever met. Do you have any dying messages you want me to pass on before we go?"

"Hey, don't agree so easily!" Uraraka interjected, but went unnoticed.

"Tell my sister I'm sorry. And…" Shouto seemed to hesitate for a moment. "And tell Momo I am grateful."

"Don't relay such heartfelt dying messages." Tsuyu deadpanned. "Now it looks like you're really going to die."

Kirishima patted Shouto on the back. "Even if you die, it'll be one of the manliest deaths in the history of mankind."

"Please don't encourage him." Izuku muttered.

"Now that we cleared things up, let's get going." Shouto announced, to which Kirishima motioned them to follow him.

Uraraka and Tsuyu fell into step with Izuku. He glanced at both them, their facial expressions matching his.

"That escalated quickly." Uraraka remarked wryly.

"You can say that again." Izuku muttered while frantically scratching his head.

* * *

It was a small cave, comfortable for no more than one person. According to Fubuki's variant of stories, this had to be the 'Sulking cave'.

"Hey," Kirishima spoke up as Shouto was about to enter, "thank you."

Shouto merely nodded, steeled himself, then stepped into the cave.

It was pretty dark, but Shouto could make out the spiky outline of Bakugou's wild hair.

"I told you to fuck off, didn't I?" The dragoon growled at him mere seconds later.

"Not happening." Shouto replied.

Bakugou visible froze. "You… You're that half-and-half bastard!" His accusatory voice echoed through the cave, hitting Shouto's eardrums quite hard.

"Yeah, that's me."

"What do you want from me?" Bakugou snarled. Shouto could even picture the scowl on the blonde's face, despite hardly knowing him.

They were right by each other now, Bakugou still sitting on the ground defiantly, Shouto standing hunched a few feet away.

"I want you to come out." Shouto tried the peaceful approach.

"Fuck off." Came the immediate reply.

He sighed. "You leave me no choice." He shot his arms out, towards the vicinity of where the blonde's neck, and consequently collar would be, hoping to grasp onto something that would allow him to drag the troublemaker out into daylight because he couldn't see _anything_ inside this goddamn cave.

Bakugou intercepted the grab at lightning speed, manoeuvring around enough to lash out a kick at Shouto. However, the swordmage still had the height advantage, at least he did until the back of his skull hit the cave ceiling painfully. Soon after he barely managed to block the incoming kick.

Okay, this wasn't going as planned.

"You wanna pick a fight with me, bastard?!" Bakugou shouted at him, jumping to his feet, incidentally also bumping his head against the cave ceiling. "Fuckin' hell!"

A few seconds later Bakugou recovered and was storming towards him, leaping forward like a wild animal. Shouto's instincts screamed to back out of the cave, and he ended up inelegantly scrambling out of the entrance.

Bakugou followed not a moment later, a powered punch sailing right towards him. Shouto rolled out of the way not a second too late, coming up into a crouch.

"Stop dodging!" The blonde screamed, his scowl deepening.

"Not until you stop acting like a child!" Shouto retorted hotly, releasing a wave of ice towards his opponent.

This seemed to catch Bakugou off guard, but not long enough. The dragoon was clearly a seasoned fighter, not that he expected any less. The blonde leapt up, landing on the ice as it passed below him. A feral grin stretched across his face as sparks lit up in his palms.

"Don't underestimate me." Bakugou growled out.

"I'm not underestimating you." Shouto replied sincerely, wishing he had taken his sword with him. "I just don't approve of your behaviour."

"Hah?" The dragoon sneered, the sparks intensifying. "Who cares about your shitty opinion?!" Then he flung a fist towards Shouto.

Shouto responded by putting up an ice wall between him and his opponent, to which the other party surprised him by displaying unexpectedly high agility. Bakugou used the force of his explosion to propel himself upwards, swiftly overcoming the ice wall.

Gritting his teeth, Shouto slid into a battle stance, his left hand pulsing with a blazing flame.

It was time to fight fire with fire.

Bakugou's wide-eyed, ferocious expression fully underlined his movements, he was a hunter, moving swiftly and attacking from weak spots. But Shouto wasn't going to let that happen. Their flaming fists clashed, the heat already melting away the ice from his previous attacks.

Shouto had to squint at the sudden bright light, his retinas burning from the overload of light. He could only estimate Bakugou's movements now, so he let his instinct guide his arms and legs.

Out of the two of them, the blonde definitely had the higher physical strength, but as long as Shouto could avoid taking a direct hit, he was still on somewhat even footing. The fingers on his right hand twitched, and he allowed himself to take a deep breath.

All he needed was one opening… just one…

His eyes adjusted to the increase in light. Bakugou's movements were just as fluid as before, and still equally deadly. And Shouto realized he might actually die here.

"You may not care about my opinions, but there are people who care about your opinions!" Shouto gritted out through clenched teeth, barely dodging an explosive punch. "There are people who care about you! And you're just being a selfish, childish, ungrateful jerk!"

Bakugou's anger seemed to increase further. "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING, BASTARD!"

If Shouto didn't die during this, he'd definitely be deaf after this.

Still, he had to march on. "Those are some really impressive fighting skills you have there." Shouto chose a split-second to release a large pillar of ice at his opponent, but wasn't too surprised when the blonde managed to evade it.

"It's a bit too late to try and butter up to me, motherfucker!"

Shouto flinched as he narrowly blocked a kick. "But I'm not buttering up to you. I'm buttering up to your mentor!"

Somehow, that managed to distract Bakugou. "What?"

Shouto took advantage of the blonde's outstretched leg, clamping it under his arm and breaking his opponent's balance. Naturally, this wasn't enough to defeat him, but it was enough to make him listen for a moment.

"Somebody cared about you enough to teach you how to fight, right? Somebody took their time to make sure understood everything, didn't they?!"

Of course, Shouto was painfully aware that that was not always the case, he needed to look no further than his own childhood to know that. But he did not spend an entire night listening to Fubuki's stories for nothing.

Because the dragon retold in full detail some of Bakugou's first training sessions, and the amount of arduous work the blonde had put in, and how much Momo, and eventually Kirishima had pushed him down the path of betterment.

"Do you really think they don't care about you?" Shouto went on, blocking a fist with his arm. "Because I don't see anybody putting up with your shitty behaviour unless they genuinely care about you!"

And when his fist impacted on Bakugou's face, he felt a sense of accomplishment.

* * *

Unfortunately, that feeling didn't last very long. A few seconds later, he started coughing violently, the taste of iron filling his mouth, courtesy of the fist lodged in his abdomen. Warm liquid trickled down the corner of his mouth, and soon after the adrenaline wore off, resulting in pain shooting through all of his limbs.

He really should have brought his sword.

He collapsed to the ground, Bakugou's incessant curses ringing in his ears.

* * *

Momo headed towards Master Nezu's, hoping he had something that would cure her pounding headache. Putting together her mission report had taken longer than expected, just as she had hardly gotten any sleep.

There were too many things about last night that troubled her, and she doubted she'd be able to sleep peacefully anyway.

Just as she was about to enter the tent, a familiar voice rang out from inside.

"Ow! What the fuck! Be more careful damnit!"

Momo paused at the flap. Was that… Bakugou? Why was he at the medical tent?

She stepped through the entrance without hesitation, bracing herself for whatever may have happened.

Bakugou was sitting next to Master Nezu's desk, an ugly bruise in the centre of his face with what looked like a fractured nose.

His arms and hands were bandaged heavily, but it didn't stop him from snarling at master Nezu, who was trying to tend to the wound on his face.

Her gaze swerved further across the room, only to land on a hunched over Shouto who had one arm wrapped in a cast and bandages wrapped tightly around the other, not that he seemed bothered by any of it. His attention was directed at Midoriya and… Kirishima?

Her eyes flitted between the two boys who both looked like mummies at this point. Did they fight each other? But why? How? What?

"Ah, Momo, did you need something?" Master Nezu greeted her, causing all eyes in the room to land on her.

"… I have a headache."

* * *

 **AN: I have no excuses.**

 **Regardless, it'd be a-maaaaaah-zinngggg if you could leave a review before closing this tab ;)**

 **~Emi**


	15. Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

**XV. Two Steps Forward, One Step Back**

By the time Momo entered the medical tent again, it was already evening. Shouto, Midoriya and the two girls were eating dinner together and locked in what seemed like a serious conversation. She took a deep breath and approached them, intent on informing them of the change of plan.

"Excuse me, can I have a moment of your time?" She asked them politely.

"Ah, Momo. Good evening." Shouto was the first one to greet her. Something about him seemed different, she noted, but she wasn't sure how she would describe it.

"Of course." Midoriya quipped in. "We're very grateful for all that you've done so far. Also, we all apologize on Shouto's behalf for acting out of line. Go ahead, Shouto, apologize as well." Midoriya's strained grin twitched as he urged his friend to do as he said.

"I still don't see what I have to apologize for." Shouto responded stubbornly. "There was nothing wrong with punching him in the face."

Momo sighed, this conversation was already going off track. "Kirishima told me what happened. While I agree that you don't have to apologize to me for punching Bakugou," she stemmed her hands on her hips, "I hope that you've at least apologized to your friends for worrying them."

"…" Shouto's mismatched eyes flickered from her to his group of friends who had averted their gazes. "… I knew I forgot to do something."

"Unbelievable." Momo smacked the back of his head lightly, only to realize half a second later that that gesture was reserved for Kirishima and Bakugou. She froze, hoping Shouto wouldn't point out the familiarity she was treating him with.

Thankfully, Shouto didn't say anything about it, instead bowing his head slightly. "I'm sorry for making you worry about me."

"It's alright as long you don't do something like that again." The frog girl, Tsuyu smiled reassuringly.

The brunette mage next to her nodded as well. "You really scared me when you gave Kirishima your dying messages."

"I nearly had a heart attack. Please don't do something that stupid again." Midoriya sighed.

"I actually came here to discuss something else," Momo confessed, "but while we're still on the topic, did you hit your head or something? What on earth compelled you to even consider the idea? Kirishima said your suggestion came out of the blue, and I still can't wrap my head around it."

Shouto looked to the side. "…actually, I had a conversation with one of the dragons."

Momo furrowed her brows, recalling where she left him near the lake when the emergency came up. The only dragon that hung out around there was…

 _Oh god._

"His name was Fubuki, and he spent most of the night telling m-" Shouto went on, only to be interrupted when Momo raised her hand wryly.

"It's alright, you can stop there." She placed her hand on his shoulder and grimaced apologetically. "It seems the one saying sorry should be me. You've been subjected to Fubuki's ramblings because I failed to warn you. I truly am sorry."

Shouto turned his head towards her and blinked in confusion.

She patted his shoulder and cleared her throat. Spending the night listening to Fubuki… counted as him hitting his head. "Now that that has been cleared up," She steered the conversation back to what she actually wanted to talk about. "About your original objective."

This caught their attention, intent eyes set on her.

"I know you must be having a hard time with what happened yesterday, and I know I said I was retracting my offer to guide you through the caves, but things are a bit different now." She ran a hand through her hair. "Due to… recent developments, we will be resuming our trip to the caves. However, I need Bakugou to be in his best shape in order to do that, and it's going to take a few days for both Shouto here and Bakugou to fully recover."

"Are the monsters in the caves really that tough?" Midoriya frowned.

Momo bit down on her tongue, pondering about whether to tell them the full truth or wait until it was absolutely necessary. In the end she decided to give them the half-truth. "You could say that, but there's also a chance we won't encounter them at all."

"Then why is Bakugou needed in full health? Didn't the original plan not include him at all? That was what sparked the argument yesterday, wasn't it?" Uraraka asked shyly.

Talking about the argument still stung in Momo's heart, considering the fact that she still hadn't had a proper conversation with Bakugou about it yet. But she soldiered on, for the sake of a larger objective.

"That's where the recent developments come in to play. Let's just say that something happened, and that we need to take additional precautions because of this."

"Is this about the emergency from last night?" Shouto spoke up.

"…Yes. For now, I can't tell you much about it, but once I've confirmed a few things I will disclose what I can to you. Unfortunately, I need Lady Mitsuki to return before I can take care of that."

"Lady Mitsuki?"

"Our tribe leader, Bakugou's mother. She's currently at a meeting regarding the kingdom's state, but she's scheduled to return the day after tomorrow." Momo explained.

* * *

Mitsuki sneezed loudly, garnering attention from all people present in the room.

"Are you sick, Lady Mitsuki?" Tasuke, her travel companion, asked her discreetly.

She shook her head. "Nah, it's probably just the stuffy city air."

Hushed whispers came from next to her. "That barbaric woman seriously has no manners."

"How unsightly."

"Why is she here again?"

"Look at how she's sitting… how unladylike."

Mitsuki snorted. "Yeah, soooo sorry that this unladylike, barbaric woman has more competence and success in leading people than any of you buffoons."

"How dare you say that in front of the king? Have you no shame?!" One lord stood up and glared at her fiercely.

Mitsuki had never seen him before, so she assumed he was new to the discussion table. Poor bastard, she already felt sorry for him.

She shrugged her shoulders. "There's no shame in stating the truth."

The young lord gritted his teeth, unable to make a rebuttal, because it was true and everybody at the table was aware of it.

Man, she couldn't wait to get back home.

* * *

"But aren't you independent? Why would you still be involved in the kingdom's discussions?" Midoriya pointed out.

Momo grimaced in response to that, "It's all just for show, they don't actually discuss anything worthwhile during those meetings. It's to show the public that the relations with the 'scary dragoons from next door' are still good."

"Oh… Politics, huh?"

"Yes, let's not think about it too much. Since we have time to kill until everything is ready, I have a proposal for you."

Tsuyu tilted her head to the side. "A proposal?"

Momo nodded. "I heard that there was a village that was being harassed by dragons nearby? Do you mind giving me directions towards it? It's troublesome if people falsely accuse our dragons of such things."

"Well, it's not that near… I think about a day's worth of travel by foot? We wandered around rather aimlessly, so I don't know how long it would take to get there if we were to take the direct route…" The green-haired boy put a finger to his chin and pondered.

"All right, then it's settled." Momo smoothed the fabric of her skirt and turned to exit the tent. "We leave tomorrow morning."

* * *

Shinsou rubbed the tiredness out of his eyes, blinking a few times. An unwanted yawn escaped his mouth.

"Not bad, newbie." The black-haired man next to him commented. "It almost makes all of our previous efforts look like a joke."

Shinsou glanced at him and grimaced. "That wasn't my intention."

The man laughed, stroking scarred fingers over his scarred chin. "Don't be so modest. Your abilities are just what we needed, right, Shigaraki?"

Shigaraki was sitting in a darker corner of the run-down bar, silent and unmoving. He didn't answer, but Shinsou felt a chill run down his spine.

"He's not in a talking mood." The blonde girl to his other side chirped, absentmindedly playing with a knife. "Don't worry about it too much."

"I wasn't." He answered. His fingers danced along the rim of his glass, the amber liquid staring back at him innocently.

Why did he agree to this? He could already feel himself questioning the events of the previous evening, no matter how much Himiko laughed and patted him on the back.

There was also a feeling of unease resting in the pit of his stomach, the memory of the black-haired girl looking at him fearlessly, her words replaying in his mind.

" _I know you don't want this."_

Why would she say something like that, to an enemy nonetheless?

Well, she wouldn't remember. She wouldn't remember any of it, but it didn't change the fact that it happened. His fingers tightened around the glass.

He needed to stop thinking about it. He managed to ensnare her in his mind-control, that was all that mattered. Everything she said before that shouldn't matter.

That's right, now they just needed to wait, wait until the time was right, wait until the seed he had planted in her mind would bloom.

* * *

Shouto curled his fingers and extended them again.

"You seem to be recovering just fine." Midoriya smiled. "Maybe you'll be back in shape earlier than expected."

Shouto merely hummed in response. Momo had already left, as did Uraraka and Tsuyu. He felt as if he was in a general state of confusion, where everything kind of added up but also didn't.

"Is this really okay?" The words left his mouth before he could stop himself.

Midoriya tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"All of this…"

"It's too late to start doubting yourself, Shouto." Midoriya sighed. "We just have to accept things as they are." The green-haired boy went silent for a bit. "You know… what you did there… punching Bakugou and stuff… It really reminds me of myself when I was younger."

Curiously, Shouto looked over. "How so?"

Midoriya laughed bashfully. "Back when Lord Yagi started training me, I'd do all sorts of reckless things, thinking the results were worth everything in between. It took me some time to understand that that wasn't the case." He confessed.

"So when you suddenly declared your intentions, and ended up going through with it, I couldn't help but think, that a few years ago, I would have been the one to do that."

Shouto redirected his gaze to his bandaged hands. "That's a bit hard to believe."

Midoriya smiled. "Just… don't do stupid things like that again, okay?"

"I won't make any promises."

His friend shook his head. "That aside, remind to ask Momo about the pendant, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

Momo stood there and waited. Waited for him to reply.

Bakugou stared out over the lake, silently watching the water. It was alright, she told herself, she was a patient person.

However, when it came to the matters of the heart, that patience started to dwindle quite a bit faster.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He finally asked, glancing over his shoulder at her.

A relieved sigh escaped her lips and she sat down next to him, a considerate amount of distance between them. "I was hoping to get as few people involved as possible. The more people go, the more likely… you know."

He turned his head to face the lake again. "You still should've at least fucking told me." He said. "What's got your brain in a mess these last few days?"

Nervously, she fumbled with her fingers. "I don't know." She sighed. "I'll admit that yes, I should have told you, but at the same time, I also have to say that you overreacted."

He made an indiscernible noise, shrugging with his uninjured shoulder.

Momo pulled her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "I'm sorry. For everything."

Bakugou sat there in silence for a few seconds, but to Momo it felt like an eternity. Each single second was accompanied by the thought that she might have screwed up for real this time, that their friendship was unsalvageable and that she may have done something terrible.

And then…

And then an involuntary yelp escaped from her as she suddenly found herself drenched in cold water. Bewildered, she looked at the blonde boy next to her, only to find him standing there with an empty bucket and a hint of a grin on his face.

"We're even now." He declared. "Now pull yourself together, ponytail."

She stared at him in disbelief, quickly disarming him of the bucket and pouring her own load of cold water over him. He scowled, dipping down low to throw a handful of the clear liquid at her, but she avoided it easily.

Their eyes met, a spark flew, and war broke out.

"Stand still and let me hit you!" He roared, using both hands to scoop up water and fling it at her, disregarding his bandaged arm.

"If you can't hit me, then you still have a lot of training ahead of you, runt!" She retaliated, manoeuvring the bucket in her hands effortlessly and emptying it over his head.

He hissed at the cold sensation, fuelling his drive to win even further. "Fuck you!"

"Language!"

"Go to hell!"

Momo's senses suddenly tinged, alerting her of something. Before she could react, another shower of ice cold water poured over her and Bakugou.

Kirishima was standing behind them, a wide grin on his face.

Momo glanced at the blonde, nodding once. Together, they stormed the unsuspecting redhead, throwing him headfirst into the lake.

A few seconds later, he resurfaced with a loud "Hey! No fair, guys!". But there was a content smile on his face as he laughed.

Momo also let herself smile, a weight seemingly lifted from her soul.

Tsunami was right. She just had to rebuild everything, and make sure it was stronger than before.

* * *

"Ahem." Somebody cleared their throat, making the three of them pause and turn their heads towards the source of the sound.

Master Aizawa stood there, completely drenched from top to bottom.

The three of them blanched. Had… had none of them noticed his presence?

* * *

Izuku yawned into the palm of his hand, watching the first sun rays at the horizon. When Momo had said morning, she _meant_ morning.

Uraraka and Tsuyu were also there, joined by Momo who was studying a map of the surrounding area.

She had told (more like commanded) Shouto to stay behind and recover, leaving him little say in the matter.

"Alright, I'm pretty sure I know what village you're referring to." She announced, packing the map away. "Unfortunately, we never had much to do with them, but most merchants that enter this forest usually pass through there on the way here."

"Are we really going to walk the entire way there and back?" Uraraka groaned. "I'd take a horse, but Shouto's horse ran away while we were being chased by the dragon."

"No, that would be a waste of time." Momo replied calmly. "We'll go by air."

"By air?" He asked. "What do you m-?"

A dark shadow crossed over them, making him look up. He swore he forgot to breathe as the dragon circled over them, majestically flipping its wings, slowly descending until it got to the ground, landing elegantly.

"This is Tsunami, a water dragon." Momo introduced the dragon. "Please show her your utmost respect."

"There's no need to be so formal." The dragon's gentle voice resonated. "Let us all work together, alright?"

Izuku's mouth opened and closed again, at a loss for words. Being chased down by a dragon was terrifying beyond description, but being offered assistance by one was inciting a feeling of enlightenment within the pit of his stomach.

"Y-Yes, please!" He managed to stammer. "We'll do our best!"

"Get on." Momo commanded. "I plan to be back before dinner."

* * *

Ochako's heart hammered in her chest as the wind whipped through her hair. One hand was occupied clutching to a scale, the other holding on to her hat.

It was exhilarating. The forest beneath them was nothing but a cumulation of green flecks, beginning to be lit up by the rising sun.

"It's beautiful." She breathed.

"It is." Momo agreed, a soft smile on her usually stern face.

Deku was staring at everything within sight, not having said a word this entire time. He was completely taken by the sight, green eyes wide as they roamed the land underneath them.

Tsuyu was also wondrously looking at the scenery below them.

A feeling of solidarity washed over her as the four of them basked in the beauty of nature.

"We should get there in a bit over two hours." Momo announced.

"This is amazing." Deku finally said. "H-How fast can dragons fly? Is there a correlation between weather and speed? What are the best circumstances for flight? Have you ever had issues because you passed over territory you weren't allowed to enter?" The questions just tumbled out of him.

Momo stared at him for a few seconds.

"You have many questions, young one." The dragon answered instead, her warm and gentle tone laced with amusement. "Clear days are best flight. It's hard to see anything when its raining, and if there's a storm we can get caught up in it as well."

"O-oh, that makes sense." Deku's eyes were practically sparkling, a wide smile on his face.

The dragon laughed, the vibrations reverberating through her entire body.

* * *

Momo swept her gaze over the surroundings beneath them. The village in question should be somewhere around here…

"Tsunami, land by that lake over there." She pointed towards the small body she could make out.

"We're landing so far from the village?" The brunette mage asked.

"If they think they've been attacked by dragons, I won't be doing myself any favours by marching in with one." She explained dryly.

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"Hold on tight."

"Wai-AHHHHHHHHH!"

Momo jumped down, landing in a crouch without much effort. Her three companions… were still a bit winded from the landing. Perhaps she should have warned them earlier…?

"Let's get moving." She announced, waiting for them to get down and stand on their own two legs again. "We still have a bit of walking to do."

"J-Just a minute." Midoriya said shakily.

She sighed and crossed her arms.

* * *

"It's the young man from a few days ago!" An elderly lady saw them and waved frantically.

More people streamed out of adjacent houses, greeting the them with excited words and gestures.

Momo watched them all, taking in small details of the way the villagers were dressed in and the state of their houses. It looked pretty shabby, but that could be said for most villages in this rotten kingdom.

"Have you found the dragons? Did you have to fight them?" An old lady asked, clasping Midoriya's hand worriedly. "Did your friends fall in battle?!"

"Uhm, no. It's a bit more complicated than that…"

"Excuse me." Momo cut in. "Are you the one in charge here?"

The woman looked at her curiously, her eyes trailing over her entire form. "I'm one of the elders here, yes."

"Do you mind if I ask you some questions, then?" Momo asked methodically.

The woman frowned. "Go ahead."

"When exactly did these incidents start occurring? And can you tell me what the dragons that attacked you looked like?"

The old lady tilted her head. "I think a few months ago. And all of always go into hiding when we see the dark shadows approach us from the horizon. Some of the huntsmen might have seen them, though." She paused. "Who are you anyways, young lady? I don't recall you being with this young man here."

Momo clicked her tongue. "I'm from a clan of dragon hunters. I'll hunt down those beasts for you." She lied smoothly, to which the woman responded by looking up at her with watery eyes.

"You will?!" She wiped her eyes. "Thank the gods, an actual hunter has come. Are those trophies from your kills?"

Momo blinked in confusion, then realized the woman was referring to the necklace of fangs around her neck. If that's what the woman wanted to believe, then sure. She didn't have to know that it was something Bakugou forced onto Momo as a symbol of their friendship.

"Yes." She answered simply, hoping to get this over and done with. "Do you mind showing me the places with the greatest damage? It'll help me assess the situation."

"Of course, of course!" The woman ushered her along. "Follow me, follow me."

Momo followed her diligently, the first stop being the village well.

"Damn dragons dry up our wells, we've been rationing our supplies for quite some time now, but we don't know how much longer we'll last. We can't even trade with merchants, nobody comes to this country anymore." The woman shook her head. "Damn dragons."

Momo didn't say anything, instead just leaned over the ledge of the well. The walls were dusty and dry when she ran her fingers across them, no traces of moisture to be found. But at the same time, there wasn't any trace of magic either.

She frowned, pondering on whether she should bother asking the lady a few more questions, even if she doubted she'd get any useful answers.

"I heard something about crops. Can you show me?" She asked instead, deciding to keep her discoveries to herself.

The old lady nodded and began leading her away. She absentmindedly took note of the other three trailing behind her.

The crops were a bit further away, the women's chatter filling the silence as she complained about all sorts of things. Momo nodded and agreed every now and then, eyes trained on the vegetation at the sides of the path.

They seemed lifeless… as if something had sucked their energy out of them. Curious.

Once they arrived at the crops, she spun that thought further. The lands were barren, and after sifting through a handful of soil she came to the conclusion that it hardly held any nutrients.

Sucking the life force out of plants…? That sounded like… But that was highly unlikely…

Regardless, she stood back up. It was worth investigating.

"I have a good grasp on the situation now." She announced to the woman. "I have some investigating to do in the area. Do you mind?"

"Oh, no, of course not."

"Good." She turned to her companions. "You three, come with me."

* * *

"Sooooo… What are we doing here?" Izuku asked as he and the other two followed Momo into the forest.

"We're looking for a monster." Momo answered simply.

"Can we have some more details?" Tsuyu inquired, glancing around. "And wasn't this supposed to be about a dragon or something?"

"That village isn't suffering from dragon attacks. It's something else." Momo explained. "If I'm right, it should be a parasitic monster that's disguising itself as a large plant. Look for the healthiest tree you can find." She instructed.

"A… what now?" Uraraka raised a brow.

"Parasitic plant monster. Weedling. Whatever you want to call it." She glanced around, running her hands along a few tree barks on the way. "It's sucking the water out of the wells and stealing all the nutrients from the surrounding grounds."

Izuku furrowed his brows. "I've never heard of such monsters before."

"They're not common here, so I'm not surprised you don't know what it is." Momo remarked. "But that's the most logical conclusion I can come up with. I can guarantee that no dragon attacked that village within the last few months."

"But what about the rumours then? About the uprising dragons?"

Momo grimaced slightly. "There are more dragons on the other side of the valley. I don't know what they're up to."

"Oh, I see…" Izuku mumbled to himself.

"Uh, guys?" Uraraka's voice rose a few octaves. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

* * *

"Hey, how are you doing?" Eijirou smiled at Shouto, holding out a bowl of food to him.

The other boy carefully took the bowl. "Thanks. Okay, I guess. It still hurts a bit, but that salve is working pretty well."

Eijirou laughed. "We call it the miracle salve! Back when Momo trained us like crazy we would use it by the ton." He smiled at the fond memories. "She may have been a slave driver, but she got us where we are today."

A thoughtful frown made its way onto Shouto's face. For a few seconds, it looked like he was going to say something, but he forewent it, shaking his head slightly.

"If you want to ask me something, its okay. Go ahead." The redhead offered. "It's the least I can do for you."

Shouto shook his head again. "It's nothing. Your hospitality has been enough to make up for this."

Eijirou cocked his head. "If you say so. Just let me know if you need anything."

He left the tent again, unexpectedly bumping into master Aizawa outside. "Oh, Master, uh, sorry about yesterday." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Pay more attention next time." Master Aizawa sighed. "Where's Momo?"

"Didn't she tell you? She took three of the guests and went to the village that's allegedly being attacked by dragons."

Master Aizawa frowned a bit, but it was hardly noticeable. "I'll talk to her when she's back."

* * *

Momo drew a dagger from one of her holsters and dropped into a crouched stance. "Don't get in my way."

With that she dashed forward, effortlessly dodging the vines and branches of the suddenly sentient tree looming over them.

Uraraka was standing next to Izuku, already twirling her staff around, a spell on her lips.

Izuku watched as trees around them were suddenly uprooted and floating around them, all while the brunette held a concentrated frown on her face.

"I think they have this covered." Tsuyu remarked dryly from his other side.

He nodded silently while Momo took hold of one vine and used it to propel herself upward. It looked too graceful. It was almost creepy.

Uraraka made a few gestures, and all uprooted trees dropped down, pinning a majority of the weedling's vines to the ground.

Momo took advantage off the short moment it caught the weedling off-guard, pulling a longer sword out of nowhere and delivering a clean strike to most of the remaining vines and branches.

With one last twirl and deadly grace, she cut through the tree, eliciting one last pained wail from it before it slumped down.

Izuku winced as its mangled form hit the ground, Momo still somewhere in the middle of the mess. He saw her ponytail bob up and down a few times as she looked for something in the mess.

Tsuyu was already on her way, offering her assistance, but Momo seemed to have found what she was looking for, judging by the gestures she made.

She hacked her sword into some of the wood a few times, then picked something up, holding against the light to inspect it.

"What is it?" He asked curiously.

"It's its heart." She pocketed the small stone and hopped over the splintered wood. "The village shouldn't have any problems from now on."

"That was… anticlimactic." Uraraka laughed a bit. "I was expecting something… different."

"Weedlings specialize in blending into the environment, not fighting. They're pretty weak, but you have to find them first." Momo explained.

"Makes sense."

Momo pocketed her weapons again and dusted off her skirt. "That aside, let's go and inform the villagers that their lives are about to improve considerably. Leave the talking to me."

* * *

"I can't believe you lied to them like that." Midoriya admitted nervously when they were back in the air.

Momo shrugged, not really caring too much. "Let them believe what they want to."

"You come across as the kind of person that values honesty." Tsuyu spoke up.

"I do, but arguing with villagers who are shackled by their own world view is not on my agenda." Momo clicked her tongue. "If they're happy, that's enough, isn't it?"

Midoriya frowned. "I can't really agree with that. I mean, sure, finding out that a plant monster spreads hallucinogens into the air in order to suck your land dry is a bit much, but I'd still prefer the truth in the end."

"You have your opinions, I have mine. We resolved the issue, that's the main point here."

"Are you really okay with resolving an issue with a lie?" He pressed on. "Don't you have any morals?"

"I don't." Momo admitted. "I don't need them. There's a reason you are the one seeking the legendary sword and not me. You are the one with the values and morals, I am merely a guard dog that will cut down all in my way."

Midoriya went silent after that, not asking her anything else for the rest of the flight home.

* * *

"Hey, Shouto." Izuku entered the medical tent and greeted their fourth party member.

"Oh, hey."

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck. "I would've come earlier, but Momo insisted we eat dinner first."

"It's okay. How was it?"

"It was crazy, I'll tell you the whole story tomorrow when I'm not so tired."

Shouto seemed amused. "You do look like you're about to fall asleep. And speaking of Momo, I'm supposed to remind you to ask her about the pendant."

"Oh, right!" Izuku exclaimed. "I completely forgot, and I had so much time to do that just now. Ugh, I'm such an idiot. I'll go right now while she's still at the table!"

"I'll come with you." Shouto offered, standing up slowly.

"Only if you feel up to it."

"I've been sitting in here the entire day, a bit of movement won't hurt." He muttered.

"Alright."

They made their way to where Izuku had seen Momo last.

"Hey, there was something I wanted to ask you about." Izuku explained, taking a seat opposite of her. Shouto mirrored his actions.

Momo nodded, signalling him to go on.

"Well, this pendant Lord Yagi gave me… It's been glowing ever since you touched it…" He dug the pendant out, showing it to her.

She didn't seem very surprised. "Oh, that's because it's reacting to my magic. I'm the one who made it, you see." She mumbled, taking the crystal between her fingers.

But then she frowned. "Even so, this doesn't seem right."

"What do you mean?" Shouto asked.

"This crystal should only be displaying Lord Yagi's magic, but it seems he's in the close vicinity of somebody who holds equal magic power to himself." She pondered, scratching her head with her other hand.

"Wait, the crystal can tell you that?! And somebody with equal magic power to Lord Yagi?!" Izuku repeated, disbelieving. From what he'd heard from Shouto, Lord Yagi was hailed as an all-powerful knight, rivalling only the… King in power.

Shouto's expression dimmed as he looked at the crystal, having already caught on. "Why?" Was all he said.

Momo blinked a few times, then also seemed to realize the implications. She furrowed her brows further. "Didn't your father sign his death certificate?" She mumbled. "Why would they be in each other's vicinity, then?"

Shouto kept his eyes on the crystal in Momo's hand. "I don't know, but this isn't sitting well with me." He replied.

Izuku put a hand to his chin. The King was with somebody whom he had declared dead, in the aftermath of his son's disappearance. How was it all connected?

Shouto mentioned that King Enji had also warped the tale of the One For All, but for what reason? Was it really solely out of his own hunger for power? King Enji was strategic and provided the inhabitants of his kingdom that were willing to work hard a decent lifestyle. Of course, there were some people, Uraraka's family for example, that pulled the short straw, but overall the living circumstances in the Southern Kingdom were above average.

Would a King that put hard work above everything else really do something so… petty?

Or was there something else? Something else that would tie everything together?

* * *

Master Aizawa tapped her shoulder. "Momo, come with me. It's time for that."

She nodded and excused herself from the other two, following her mentor into the forest. "We visited the village in question just now. I found a Weedling a bit outside of the village and disposed of it." She relayed.

"A Weedling? But those are indigenous to the Northern Kingdom."

"I know, that's why I'm sure something fishy is going on."

"Do you think it's connected?" He inquired.

"Maybe, I'm still a bit confused right now." She ran a hand through her hair. "I just can't seem to find a motive for any of these actions."

"I see. How are you feeling otherwise?"

"Still a bit woozy. If the same thing as yesterday happens again, I'm telling Bakugou and Kirishima. They need to know." She sighed.

Her master grimaced. "I'll have to agree with you on that one. And we'll go straight to Lady Mitsuki when she comes back."

She clenched her fist nervously. She still didn't know how she had managed to slip up, and every time she tried to recall the events of what happened in the forest that night, she'd only get a stinging headache.

They stepped through the trees arriving at the Lake Of Truth.

"Okay, we'll try this again." Aizawa said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Don't push yourself too hard. We'll figure this out, okay?"

She nodded and took a deep breath, thinking back to the cloaked man in the forest. "Kirishima told me there was an emergency. I headed out already while he got back-up, when I saw a person. I'd assume it to be a man, judging by the way the person moved and held himself."

Her gut twisted uncomfortably. "Then… then…" Pain shot through her head, making her groan as she rubbed her temples. "Then… I chased him down because… Becau-mphfh." She hunched forward, clutching a hand over her mouth in response to the bile rising up her throat.

She shook her head apologetically, coughing up what little had made it up her oesophagus. It was the same as yesterday. It was as if she had been programmed to lie. As if she was being forced to lie. She took a few deeper breaths, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

Master Aizawa rubbed her back in comforting circles, pulling her into his side. "It's okay, we'll figure this out. We'll figure this out together."

* * *

 **AN: lol sry 4 the long w8 (okay but seriously, this was not planned. I also have exams coming up, so you might have to wait a bit before I can finish the next chapter.)**

 **Regardless, please leave a review telling me how bad this was :)**

 **~Emi**


	16. All Roads Lead To

**AN: I updated the first few chapters, so don't be confused that there's one chapter less now. It doesn't change the plot drastically, but if you happen to have some free time on your hands, I'd appreciate you checking it out and giving me some feedback on it :)**

* * *

 _ **XVI. All Roads Lead To…**_

"I leave for a few days, and _this_ happens." Mitsuki sighed. "I can't believe Lord Yagi sent somebody to us after all this time…"

"Not only that, but there's another force at work here." Momo cast her eyes downwards. "I'm sorry I couldn't eliminate them."

"It's regrettable, but at least we're aware of their trap. Do Katsuki and Kirishima know?"

The black-haired girl nodded. "They promised to keep an eye on me."

"We've decided to proceed with retrieving the sword in your absence." Her advisor cut in. "We assumed you'd agree with us on that notion."

Mitsuki sunk further into her chair and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Sadly, that's true. If Lord Yagi really thinks he needs his weapon back, we hardly have a choice…" She pulled her lips into a tight line. "…but what will we do about the other one?"

"We don't have any choice but to keep it here, do we?" Momo said. "We don't know how it will affect the area if it's on its own, but we'll just have to adapt to the situation."

"The boy doesn't know about it, does he? That means that Lord Yagi didn't give him any instructions." The matriarch concluded. "That's troublesome. And on top of all that, we have the royal heir of the neighbouring kingdom prancing around here. God, what a mess."

She glanced back at Momo and Aizawa. "Have you already heard the news? About the princess?"

"You mean the 'princess'?" Her advisor air-quoted. "Yes, we've heard from our visitors."

"I can't believe that rotten bastard. Announcing his daughter as dead and using that as a reason to target the South. If he wasn't an incompetent moron, then all this wouldn't be a problem." She laughed dryly. "He plans to announce it next week. The kingdom's going to be enraged for a lot of different reasons."

"Great, just what we needed." Momo groaned. "An upset kingdom and more reason for riots. I just hope they don't venture too deep into the forests here."

Mitsuki frowned. Momo was taking this much better she had expected. She cleared her throat. "I agree. If they start cutting down our trees, they'll be dealing with us."

"Speaking of trees, you'll never believe this, but there was a Weedling in a village near the southern border.

"A… Weedling? I thought those were myths."

"Trust me, it was real." Momo put a hand over her heart. "I've disposed of it, but it still bothers me that it was even here."

"I second that sentiment. If creatures from other kingdoms are suddenly appearing around here, it can't bode anything well." Mitsuki agreed with a grim expression. "But before we break our heads over that, let's focus on our four visitors. You said there were eight originally, right? I assume you've taken care of the four that left?"

Momo nodded. "We don't need to worry about those four for now. I'm more worried about how much to tell the four that are still here."

"Regarding the cave, you mean? Hmmm… I think it's best not to tell them anything. If they really are worthy, they won't need to fight, after all."

Momo bowed. "I see. Then I shall relay that to them."

"One more thing, Momo." Mitsuki stretched out her arm, placing a reassuring hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "Don't push yourself too hard. And be careful."

* * *

Tenya washed his hands in the stream methodically. He had luckily found some edible berries along the way, but unfortunately the juice stained his skin red. A small voice in the back of his mind noted that it almost felt like washing blood off his hands.

He could have tried hunting for some wild animals, but from what he could tell there was hardly any wildlife in the area. It was odd, however once taking into consideration that he was still within western borders, he told himself it was just an unfortunate consequence of the country's state.

His sword sat by his side, a ray of sunlight reflecting off it. Tenya grimaced. He didn't feel worthy of that sword.

He had sworn an oath to his family, his kingdom, an oath to protect those in need.

After meeting Midoriya, everything had changed. He sighed. What he had done was horrible, but he needed to clear his mind. He needed some distance to sort out his thoughts.

The legendary sword. It actually existed. The Western Kingdom. A worse mess than he had anticipated. If your villagers were being attacked, it was the King's duty to step in! Tenya couldn't comprehend what was going in, but in the end, there wasn't much he could do about it. Even if there was something he could do, this place was not within his jurisdiction.

He thought back to his home, his family, his parents and Tensei. Tensei... How was he doing? Had his injuries healed yet? Probably. But Tenya didn't feel like he could see his brother just yet.

He picked up his blade, its comforting weight sitting in his hands firmly. He would redeem himself. He would earn back his right to wield it. And one day, he might be able to face both his family and his friends again.

* * *

Denki poured some water over the fire, successfully putting in out.

Jirou was nearby, drawing a rough sketch of the area into the ground with a stick. "We've traced back our steps pretty well so far, we should be out of the forest latest tomorrow." She explained.

Ashido nodded in agreement. "Then we can try to cross the border again. Once we've crossed over, we'll have to make sure to take a detour, but I'm sure we can do it."

"If we stick to the border of the kingdom, we can try heading north next. Getting into the Northern Kingdom might be a bit tricky, but it'll be worth it." Jirou went on.

Denki stared into the depths of his empty canister. "Why don't you come with me?"

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"I'm heading back to the capitol. Why don't you come with me? I can put in a good word for you, and nobody'll have to know about your pasts."

The two former thieves exchanged glances. "You'd… you'd do that for us? You still don't know how you ended up in that forest, and we're criminals, are you sure you should be making such offers?"

"We're friends, right?" He smiled at them. "Friends help each other out, regardless of the circumstances. Trust me, life in the capitol is great! You can have a fresh start with a clean slate! And work honest jobs!"

Ashido averted her gaze. "I'm not sure we deserve something as generous as that. Look what happened the last time somebody offered us their help…"

Denki put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, mirroring the gesture with Jirou. "It's not about what you think you deserve, it's about what I want to do for you. You helped me, a stranger, out when I was helpless, so at least let me do this much for you."

"…thank you." It was a small whisper that left Jirou's lips, but it was enough to make his smile grow just a bit wider.

The pink-haired girl of their group suddenly started sniffling. "Waaaah, thank you, Kaminari, you're the best!" She cried out, engulfing him in a tight hug.

He laughed, returning the embrace, patting her back as she continued crying. "It's the least I can do."

* * *

Kyouka decided that she felt more relaxed now that she didn't have to fret over their plans anymore. It was more evident in Mina's behaviour, the bounce in her step having finally returned.

She knew she would never be able to fully forgive herself for what happened in the dragoon village, and her feelings towards that entire incident were still very… mixed. It was too late to return now, and she definitely didn't want to face the black-haired girl's wrath, so this was their next best option. It was cowardly, yes, but it also offered a certain safety.

Midoriya helped them steer towards a better path, and now it was up to them to find their own way from here on. And that road currently led back to the Southern Kingdom.

* * *

"I don't remember this area." Mina said, looking at the trees surrounding them. "I think we took a wrong turn somewhere…"

"We're close enough to the border that it shouldn't matter." Kaminari pointed out. "We should find it anyway sooner or later."

"I'd very much prefer sooner." Kyouka sighed. Getting lost was the last thing they needed right now. "Maybe we can find a village somewhere around here? Then we can ask for directions."

"The trees are thinning out a bit over there… It might be farm land."

Mina nodded in agreement. "We should check it out!"

* * *

"Whoa, it's like a ghost town." Mina exclaimed, right before an unsettling, but weirdly familiar, stench hit her nose. "Oh god, what is that smell? It's terrible!"

Kaminari's arm shot out, stopping her from taking another step. "That's the smell of decaying meat."

Decaying meat… He was right, the touch of iron mixed with stomach-turning gases were a tell-tale sign of blood and dead bodies.

"We need to be careful." Kyouka added, lowering her voice in caution. "It's unlikely anybody's still here, the smell is too strong for it to have happened recently, but we need to watch out for wild animals."

Mina nodded silently, her fingers already curling around one of her daggers. With a stench this strong, it must've attracted something out of the forest by now. Kyouka signalled towards the central building which seemed to have a bar in its lower floor.

She and Kaminari confirmed it with gestures, the lightning mage already having prepared his rapier. With quiet, cat-like steps, she and Kyouka went ahead, peering into the open room. There was nothing visibly wrong with it, so she pushed the door open a bit more.

The thief felt it immediately, the disturbance in the air, the eerie quiet and the iron-heavy stench all tying together. Something was wrong.

She could barely hear her own breathing, making the shuffling noises that weren't theirs all the more obvious and unnerving. Kyouka signalled Kaminari to stand by.

Mina took a deep breath, exhaling slowly and steadily. She and her partner-in crime exchanged one more glance, nodded, then pushed the door open together.

The creature was large, grotesque. Mina gritted her teeth. Dammit! It wasn't even an animal! What the hell was it?! She didn't get much time to think it over, the creature already having detected them. It turned, much faster than she expected from a beast of its size, a strangled sound escaping its throat.

Mina used their difference in height to her advantage, slipping past it and hurling a knife at it. It reacted to the pain with a loud cry. She followed it up with her speciality, a good dose of acid, guaranteed to melt through _something_.

Or not.

"Grrr, Kyouka, it's not working!"

"Cover your ears!" Her partner called out. Mina obliged immediately, mentally prepared for the sound waves that were about to come. The ground shook, the shrill ringing still penetrating her ears uncomfortably, but the creature was dealing with far worse. It began screeching and writhing in pain, it's owns wails mixing with Kyouka's sonar magic, creating a painful cacophony.

Mina knew what she had to do now. She ran over, and as quickly as her body allowed her to move, she removed her hands from her ears, gripped her dagger and sunk it into the creature's skull.

It stopped moving, the noise died down, and she pulled the dagger out again.

Her own laboured breathing was soon the only thing she could hear.

"What the hell is this thing?" Kyouka prodded the motionless creature. "It's not human, but I'm sure that isn't a Halfling either…"

"I wish I knew, too." Mina wiped her dagger off on a nearby tablecloth just as Kaminari entered the room.

"Almighty gods above, what the fuck is that thing?" He scrunched his nose. "It looks disgusting."

"So, you've never seen one either?"

He shook his head. "If something like this existed, people would have talked about it by now, right?"

"True…" Kyouka put a hand to her chin. "I think it's safe to assume there are no survivors, but we should check just to be sure. Also, if there are any other creatures around…"

Mina twirled her dagger around her fingers, her heart calm again. "We can take 'em."

* * *

Kyouka sighed as she covered the corpse with a bed sheet. It was only a young child.

"There's one more girl downstairs. She was practically ripped in half." Kaminari reported. "That makes four in this house."

"I can't believe that that one monster alone was responsible for this massacre." Mina shuddered. "It seems so surreal."

Kyouka looked back at the small corpse. Massacre was the right term. They were currently in the last house, every villager they had found so far mutilated beyond repair and recognition.

"We should take the monster back to one of the cities. If there are more of these things out there, we can't hold back." Kaminari announced. "It's my duty towards my kingdom."

Kyouka clenched her fist. The thought of something like this roaming the peaceful South… She met Kaminari's gaze with determination. "We'll help you."

* * *

Denki pushed the door to the bar open, only to thrown against a nearby wall right afterwards. The pain shot up his back as he fell to the ground, his limbs unresponsive for a few seconds.

He could make out Ashido's shout in the background, and once his vision focussed again and feeling returned to his arms, his eyes widened.

It was the monster. Even with its skull cracked open, it was moving. Something in his throat constricted, leaving him unable to even cry out a warning. A shiver ran down his spine, his sweat a layer of ice on his forehead. Had the room always been so cold?

He could feel his fingers, so why couldn't he move?

The creature's arm shot out, pinning Ashido to the ground. Jirou narrowly evaded another attack, but the frustration was clear in her expression.

How was it still moving? How?! Ashido killed it, hadn't she?

Ashido struggled against its grip but let out a pained yelp shortly afterwards. Jirou was circling the monster, ducking when necessary.

"Kaminari!" She shouted out in panic.

Panic. He was afraid, he was panicking. How disgraceful! He was Denki Kaminari, prestigious bounty hunter of the Southern Royal Court! He was better than this!

Pulling himself together, his shaking hand gripped his rapier and charged at the monster, effectively catching it off-guard enough for Jirou to jump on its back, digging her knife between its vertebrae.

"Jirou, get off!" He warned her.

Once she leapt off, he struck the monster, immediately sending his magic through the conductive metal.

Even if it was moving without a brain, if he disrupted the electric signal in its body…

He started off with a small shock, enough so that the creature let go of Ashido, followed by a larger discharge.

"Take this!" He screamed, putting all his frustrated emotions into the next attack.

* * *

"Are you alright?" He held out a hand to help Ashido up.

"Yeah, somehow…" She grimaced. "Is that thing really dead now?"

Denki looked over his shoulder. "I hope so. We can't let our guard down, who knows what kind of other freaky abilities it has…"

"Thanks for the save." Jirou made a wide girth around the creature. "Who knows what would've happened if you weren't there…"

"Ugh, I was so scared for a moment there I swore my heart stopped beating." Ashido laughed and cried simultaneously. "I just hope it's really dead this time."

Denki looked at the rapier in his hands. "You know, that dragoon girl… she told me that my old rapier would not do against the monsters in the cave… this one is much better, that's true, the magic flows through it more smoothly, but does that also mean that the monsters there are on this level?"

"What a scary thought… but in a larger group, it might not be this hard…"

"That aside," Jirou cut off sharply, clearly avoiding the topic, "this thing moves like a mammal, so breaking its spine should immobilize it enough."

"Kyouka, it was moving even after I _cracked its skull open_."

"Well, do you have any better ideas?!"

Ashido shook her head sadly. "No, unfortunately not."

* * *

"I feel bad stealing from dead people, but it's not as if they need any of these things anymore." Kyouka muttered, securing another canister of water to her belt.

They had helped themselves to some rope from one of the workshops and used it to tie up the monster, deciding to drag it with them until they found a city.

Mina returned with a handful of dry food, putting it into her bag and sealing it. "I think we're good to go."

She nodded, and together they left the building. Kaminari was watching the creature outside, on standby in case it began twitching again.

"I packed you some stuff." Mina handed him a bag.

"Thanks." He smiled gratefully, securing it over his shoulder.

"So…" Kyouka looked at the creature in dismay. "…time to do this."

* * *

Hanta bit into an apple as he observed the trio exiting the village. They seemed completely ignorant to his presence, but after what just transpired, he was considering showing himself to them. They looked like they could use a hand.

He'd already sent a messenger bird back home to report this new monster, so all that was left for him to do was continue his mission.

He threw the apple core away when the three travellers began to disappear from his line of sight, moving to follow them in the shadows of the trees. It was probably safer then approaching them, at least for now.

* * *

Shinsou lazily flipped through a spell book. They couldn't do anything without permission from the man that Shigaraki called 'father'.  
He had tried asking Dabi about him, but the black-haired mage had merely smiled and left. Himiko didn't seem to care about anything but gathering blood, so asking her wasn't likely to be fruitful, either.

Kurogiri was, uh, complicated. He was very loyal to Shigaraki for some reason, so Shinsou doubted he'd spill anything either.

Knowing he wouldn't be getting any information on 'father', the illusionist decided to check out one of the many books lying around. The red crosses on their covers alluded to them being banned in at least one of the kingdoms, enticing his curiosity further.

So far, there was nothing truly dangerous, though. The spells merely needed so much magic to be executed that it would be dangerous for the user, but if you used a good relic, it shouldn't be a problem. He eyed his staff which was currently leaning against a wall. It wasn't the best, but it'd have to do for now.

When Kurogiri recruited him, he hadn't had much time to think, so he didn't consider taking one of the better staffs at the school. In retrospect, it was kind of stupid.

He sighed, flipping the page once more.

"What'cha doin'?" A blonde head leaned over the counter, looking into the book. "Reading? How boring."

"Don't you have knives to sharpen or something?"

Himiko shrugged. "All of them are nice and sharp and sparkly now, so I'm looking for something else to do."

"Go bother Dabi or something, I'm busy."

"You're no fun." She stuck out her tongue, then slipped a glass from the counter and disappeared into the backroom.

Finally, she was gone. Shinsou skipped a few pages, skimming over the spells further in the back of the book, but as he had suspected, this book was banned for having taxing spells.

He tossed it back on the pile and picked up another one. This one's black, scratched up cover looked quite a bit more promising. A bit more menacing.

Leaning his head into his palm, he wondered why he was even looking for new spells. His combination of light and sound magic was pretty rare and effective to begin with, so theoretically he should be good to go. On the other hand, he never finished his education, so a spark of curiosity still remained.

He paused in the middle of turning to the next page and clicked his tongue. Himiko was right. This _was_ boring.

He closed the book with a sigh. They were stuck here until the command he gave the black-haired girl was triggered.

He furrowed his brows and stared at the dim ceiling. That was going to take quite some time, wasn't it?

* * *

Chiyo traced her finger across an old rune she had etched into the wood quite some time ago.

It'd have to be enough.

"Can't we help in any way?" The blonde boy asked her. "If they're really coming here, it's because of us, isn't it?"

"I'm not too sure about that." She answered seriously. "They might be here for me, too."

"You? But you're just a potion master..."

"The king only tolerates my presence here. I'm independent from all of the kingdoms, but he will not hesitate to make use of me while I'm here. If he sent his men here to get me, something bad must've happened." Chiyo explained.

"You don't want to help, do you?" The boy concluded.

"No. I will help those in need, but working for the king comes with too many strings attached. I'd rather they be able unable to find me."

"Hagakure can help you." He said.

"The girl? But she's not well enough yet."

"She uses light magic. She can help you conceal this place." He went on determinedly. "Please, let us help you."

It went against her better judgement, but now was the time to use all help she could get. Reluctantly, Chiyo found herself giving in to his pleading. "...Alright."

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Ojiro asked as he settled her arm over his shoulder.

"A bit woozy." She admitted. "But also a lot better."

"That's good to hear. I'm sorry to have to make you do this."

"It's okay. If it means we stay safe, I can do it." Hagakure reassured him with a weak smile.

"Take this." The old lady handed her a small cup. "It will boost your magic for a short moment."

"Thank you." She sipped the potion slowly. "Do you think they'll have sensors with them?"

"Probably, but I've spread a few magic stones in the surrounding area. It should be enough to throw any sensory mages off." The potion master explained. "I can't promise anything, so you should be prepared to run or fight if it comes to the worst."

"I won't let that happen." Hagakure finished the potion and handed back the container. "I will do everything in my power to make sure that doesn't happen."

* * *

"Are you ready for this journey?"

Toshinori ran a hand across the horse's back. "It's not as if you leave me with much of a choice."

"Stop griping." The king reprimanded sharply. "Don't forget, this is partially your responsibility."

"I know." He whispered. "I… know." How was young Midoriya doing now, he wondered. Had the dragoons welcomed him and his possible entourage well?

Would they be able to overcome the demons and retrieve the sword?

Toshinori could only pray and believe in the strength of the young boy's heart.

* * *

 _Crunch._

Tenya's instincts screamed, just in time to avoid the branch that fell down from above, landing on the spot he had occupied a mere second ago with an impactful thud.

The small trace of magic in the air left him on his highest guard, sword drawn and eyes darting from right to left. He couldn't see anybody or anything, dammit.

The ground under his feet suddenly broke apart, an incomplete hand emerging from the earth, making a grab for his boot. He shook it off, jumping backwards in the process. He rose his sword into a defensive position.

The penchant smell of decaying flesh invaded his nose, followed by the hand's full body clawing its way out of the ground. Half of its torso was missing, the remains of its skeleton the only thing holding it together.

"Necromancer! Where are you?!" Tenya shouted into his surroundings. "Show yourself!"

A low chuckle echoed from behind him, forcing him to spin around.

The paladin narrowed his eyes at the cloaked figure. "Who are you? What are you trying to achieve?"

The figure waved its hand, causing three more corpses to crawl out if the earth. "You traversed the forest and survived. That means... You've come in contact with that tribe at its innermost heart, have you not? If you reveal everything you know about them to me, I might spare your life."

* * *

 **AN: It's been too long. I really do hope to be able to focus more on this fic now :))**

 **As always, reviews are very much appreciated :))**

 **~Emi**


	17. Despair

_**XVII. …Despair**_

Necromancers were… complicated. They were something Tenya was never really able to understand. All his life, he had learned to respect the dead, to respect the bodies they left behind, to respect their eternal sleep, but… Maybe it was because he used wind magic opposed to dark magic that he would never understand necromancy, viewing dead bodies as nothing more than shells left behind by the soul. Viewing them as nothing more than disposable puppets.

He held nothing against them and their views, but he also knew he wouldn't be able to see eye-to-eye with them.

* * *

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen." Tenya replied firmly, tightening his grip around his sword. The necromancer didn't reply at first, merely standing there in his cloak of black fog, small tendrils drifting with the breezy wind.

"…I see. Then you shall perish here." The necromancer's voice was deep and calm, causing a sense of unease in Tenya's gut. The only thing he could do now was fight – fight for the honour he lost and the friends he will protect.

Without hesitation, two of the three corpses leapt forward, dancing to their master's every whim and will, skeletal hands clutching rusted weapons tightly as they attacked him. Tenya shifted his feet, solidifying his stance as much as possible before blocking each attack, one after the other. He clenched his teeth, doing his best to ignore the fact that his opponents had once been innocent people, warriors, fighters with hearts and souls of their own.

He could put an end to this, he just had to…! He just had to break through them and reach the source of their movements. The one that woke them from their peace – the necromancer.

Tenya thrust out his sword, closely followed by his shield, putting all his power into breaking through the deadly defence, even if it meant leaving his back wide open. He had to go on the offensive if he wanted anything to happen here! With a surge of magic propelling him forward, the line broke, allowing him to shoot straight for the necromancer himself.

Tendrils of black fog accumulated, intercepting Tenya's blade before it could harm their master. He gasped when they began wrapping themselves around the silver, perfectly unharmed by the sharp edge.

"Impressive, but not enough." The necromancer stated, a hint of a smirk in his tone. "I shall give you one last chance. Tell me the secrets of the forest or meet your end in the never-ending madness of the night!"

"…never." He had already done as much as leave them behind. Even if it cost him his life, he would never reveal anything. Never. NEVER. He could feel the cold sweat permeating from his hands, sticking to the insides of his gloves uncomfortably as his hands trembled, still fighting against the force of the black fog. His sword was firm and sturdy, the representation of what he did not deserve – and despite that, he had used it to fight. He was not worthy of this sword, but it still lent him its strength. One more time… He'd need this sword's strength… one more time…

"That is truly unfortunate for you." The necromancer slowly lifted a hand, already gesturing for the corpses' next actions.

"NO!" Tenya shouted, channelling his magic into his sword, praying it would withstand the pressure, and with all his might, pushed it against the fog.

The wind cut through the curtain of black effortlessly, and in the split-second his opponent was still stunned by surprise, he rammed him to the ground, even ignoring the sound of his blade shattering into a million shards right next to him. The necromancer struggled, but there was nothing left to protect him. The black fog spell had dissipated with Tenya's slash, allowing him to get a good look at his assailant's face.

Even in the darkness, he recognized that face. He gasped, a mixed feeling of surprise, anger and betrayal coming over him. "You... You're from the settlement."

The necromancer sighed loudly before nodding. "That is correct."

"Why did you attack me then?! Is this what the settlement has to say?!" He demanded, anger leaking into his voice. "Is your true nature? To send me away just to have me killed in the middle of the forest?!"

The bird halfling's face betrayed no emotion as he met Tenya's gaze head-on. "We were taking safety precautions."

"…safety precautions?"

"You hold a lot of valuable information, whether you are aware of it or not. We had to make sure, that even under threat, you wouldn't reveal it. We know we are accusing a valiant paladin of the Iida family of something heinous, but you have to understand our distrusting nature."

Tenya furrowed his brows, his inner conflict leaving him indecisive of his next action. He couldn't spot any lies in the halfling's words, and on a concept level it made sense, but… was he really telling the truth?

"I'm sure you'll understand that I have a hard time believing you."

"You have every right to. I shall introduce myself, so make sure to remember my name well. I am Tokoyami, a master student of the dark arts, and a close ally to the dragoon tribe. You have every reason to doubt my words, but I swear on my Cursed Artefact Of Death And Destruction that I mean you no further harm." On command, all corpses disappeared back into the ground.

He'd even swear on his staff? It was hard not to take him seriously, a mage would never do such a thing if they were lying. Slowly, reluctantly, Tenya released the necromancer.

"I have the utmost gratitude for your cooperation."

"I didn't say I was going to cooperate." He shot back, his eyes falling to the crumbled remains of his blade. "You owe me a new sword."

"I do, don't I?" The halfling admitted solemnly. "I deeply hope it wasn't a prized family heirloom."

This sword? Well… Tenya _did_ receive it from Tensei. It was a gift. It was a treasure. He crouched down and began sweeping the shards into his palm, careful not to cut himself in the process. "No, it wasn't." He explained. "It was a sword that was made with the purpose to protect. It protected me, so it fulfilled its duty."

Tearing off a corner of his tunic, he quickly created a makeshift bag and secured the fragments in it. "I wasn't worthy of it, and yet, it still protected me when I needed it the most. It was a better man than I could ever hope to be."

"Good paladin, you deem yourself unworthy?"

"I don't deem myself as such, I _am_ unworthy." Tenya sighed. "I will work hard. I will do my best… to earn back that worth."

A hand squeezed his shoulder. "Your words have moved the abyss within my soul. I will help you on your quest to worth, noble paladin."

Tenya secured the small fabric bag with a tight knot and glanced at the necromancer. "Thank you."

He may not be able to see eye-to-eye with their reasonings, but Tenya saw the look in this particular necromancer's eyes, a simmering fire of determination that was hard to fake. A look he could fully relate to. In this small instance in time, he understood a necromancer.

* * *

A clatter of metal caught Izuku's attention, making him shift his attention from his food to something on his left. His eyes fell from Momo, who was currently wiping some sweat from her brow, to the glinting pile of weapons spread out on the table in front of her.

"What's this?" The question came from Shouto, who had also looked up from his bowl of soup.

"What do you think? Your improved weapons, of course." She stemmed a hand on her hip, the smallest hint of a proud smile on her face. "Did you forget what I told you about the monsters? Your fragile sword won't do against them."

"A-ah, right." Izuku glanced at the pile. He had received his sword from his mother, so letting go of it was… No, he shook his head. This was part of becoming stronger. Stronger equipment was necessary for that, and for his hero's sake…!

"Although, there was one more thing I wanted to point out…" Momo took a seat next to him and picked up a sword from her pile. "You don't use magic, do you? Because you aren't capable of using it."

The words stung as much as the first time he heard them, but this was his fate. Lord Yagi had believed in him nonetheless, so he chose to do the same. But still… he clenched his fist under the table, trying to mask his disappointment with a light-hearted chuckle and a grin. "Haha, yeah. I guess I just lucked out."

Momo didn't laugh, nor did she show any other particular reaction. Instead, she held out the sword to him with both hands. "Then this should be suitable for you. Since you won't need it to conduct magic, I was able to use a metal of better quality for it."

"…huh?" He accepted the sword despite his confusion, its solid weight sinking into his palms nicely. Metal of better quality? What did she mean by that? He knew most metals could conduct magic, and it was generally looked down on to use anything else. Well, Iida was an exception, but that tied in with his fighting style. Carefully, he held the blade up against the evening light, it's polished surface mirroring his face perfectly. "So… this one won't conduct magic?"

"It won't." She confirmed. "What you make of it is up to you. We'll be heading out to the caves the day after tomorrow, so use the remaining day to familiarize yourselves with these."

She distributed the remaining items and left again. Izuku looked back down at his blade. It was almost here… The day that he would fulfil his promise and retrieve the sword!

"Wow!" Uraraka's voice was filled with awe, and when he glanced over at her he saw a bright smile cover her face as she ran her fingers along the lines engraved on her new staff. "These are so precise… They're perfect!"

"Can I see?" Shouto asked, already leaning halfway over her to examine the staff. When she nodded and handed it over, he also began tracing his finger across the etchings. Then he frowned. "Very immaculate handiwork. Almost _too_ immaculate."

* * *

"Midoriya, how are things going?" Shouto asked, watching the shorter boy try out a few different swings with his new sword.

Midoriya turned to him and grinned, the rising sun leaving rays of light in the boy's unruly hair. "It's going great! The balance and weight distribution of the blade is amazing, and it's so easy to use! It cuts extremely well, too! I have to express all my gratitude to Momo later!"

Shouto expected as much, to be honest. Just like Midoriya, he had found that his newest sword was both optimized in magic conduction and form. It was almost scary how perfect they were. Was this the fullest capability of a skilled alchemist?

There was an uneasy feeling at the back of his head, reminding him that things were going _too_ well again. Something was going to happen. Something that would bring things back into equilibrium. Something bad.

The minutes crawled by, and even as he watched the morning dew roll off a leaf, he couldn't help but dread the following day.

"Aren't you going to try out your sword?" A voice broke him out of his thoughts. It was Tsuyu.

"I already did, and I thought it would be best to conserve my energy for tomorrow."

"Hmm, understandable."

He glanced at her. "What about you? You received something as well, didn't you?"

"Yeah, a dagger. It really boosts water spells, but I've never been much of a mage, so I'm not sure of how much use it will really be to me. Still, it is the most likely weapon for me to use."

He couldn't help but wonder exactly how much Momo read into their skills. It was almost as if she was psychic.

"Ah there you are, Shouto." Kirishima suddenly plopped a hand o his shoulder. "You got a moment? Fubuki wants to talk to you."

As in… the dragon? "What does he want to talk to me about?"

"Beats me, but he told me to ask you to come by when you have time." Kirishima had a warm grin spread across his face. How was he so happy? No, that didn't matter.

"I'll go over now, I wasn't really busy anyway."

* * *

"You're not making any sense." Katsuki grumbled as he glowered at the person sitting opposite of him.

Momo had her face buried in her arms, muttering a few incoherent words.

"Look, if you don't feel well, stay in your fucking bed until you're better again."

She lifted her head, a troubled frown resting on her brows. "That's not it." Her mouth was parted, as if she wanted to add more to that statement, but ultimately, she said nothing else.

"You gotta be more specific. Just tell me what the fuck's bothering you."

"You see…" Momo trailed off, then she groaned and rubbed her fingers to her forehead. "Just… don't trust me, okay? Tomorrow, make sure you don't trust me."

She disappeared out of the tent quicker than he could reply, the flap falling back into place, leaving him alone in the enclosed space. Katsuki had tried convincing her not to go, but for whatever reason she was vehement on going along, not even Master Nezu's words could get through to her.

It was very irrational, especially for her.

But whatever it was, he couldn't do anything about it. It wasn't something he could beat up. It wasn't something he could intimidate. All he could do was sit by the side-lines, powerless, and hope for the best.

* * *

"You wanted to talk to me?" Shouto looked up to the white dragon. Fubuki looked quite different in daylight, the cold tones of his scales being a lot softer without the moon's stark lighting.

"Ah yes, it seems you are entering the caves?"

"We are, tomorrow morning." Shouto answered, taking the opportunity to find a comfortable place to sit down. His past experience with Fubuki had taught him that this was going to take a while.

"Hmm, I see, I see. I assume Lady Momo and Lord Bakugou are going to accompany you? Yes, that would be the most reasonable, after all, Lord Kirishima can't enter the caves… No wait, we aren't supposed to talk about that. What I wanted to ask was whether you would be interested in receiving my blessing. You seem like a good fellow, after all, so I don't see the problem…"

The dragon spoke faster than Shouto could process all the information, leaving him with an overflowing amount of questions but only so many words to express them. Kirishima? What about Kirishima? And… "Blessing? What would your blessing do?"

"Haven't you heard?" Fubuki sounded genuinely surprised, leaning in as far as possible, looking at Shouto with an eye the size of a windmill. "If a magical beast gives you their blessing in a certain element, you'll be able to use stronger magic."

That… sounded like something a con artist would say. "If that were the case, wouldn't mages from all over the world abuse that circumstance?"

Fubuki burst out in laughter, the rumblings shaking the trees and rocks of the environment. "You do have a good head on your shoulders, boy. But you also have to consider that a blessing can only be given of the being's own free will."

"I see…" that was half a lie, because the entire concept still seemed too… abstract for him to fully accept. "But would really want to grant something like that to somebody you've held one conversation with?"

"Listen, young Shouto." Fubuki's icy breath swept over him and his immediate surroundings, leaving small traces of frost in some places. Shouto blamed that for the chill that ran across his skin in that moment. "I have this… feeling. I've been alive for quite some time, so I know how to interpret these feelings. Call it intuition, but bad times are dawning."

"Why are you telling me, an outsider, about this?"

"Because the approaching danger… involves everyone and everything." The dragon whispered. "it's much larger than the settlement, so I must make sure the warning reaches outside ears as well."

"I still have a hard time believing this, though." Shouto admitted. "Bad times? Danger? Is a drought approaching the Western Kingdom? Does it have to do with those strange monsters Midoriya and the others encountered?"

"I don't know. But all I _do_ know is that you," a claw came up and pointed at him, "have a good heart, and that you will do good with my blessing. I'm sure you've heard about the monsters in the cave, right? They are no ordinary monsters. They are the worst kind of monsters you will ever face."

Shouto gulped. That sounded… very ominous. It wasn't that he was afraid, but something about the dragon's tone made him file every word away as nothing but the straight truth.

"I will ask again, will you receive my blessing?"

Shouto stared at the outstretched claw, waiting for him to accept it. "I…"

* * *

Midoriya yawned loudly, nearly tripping over a root in the process. Tsuyu caught him in time, quickly reminding him to be careful.

The sun had barely begun rising when they left the settlement a good while ago, and now the rays of sun were already leaving bright spots in-between the crowns of trees.

"We will take a short break here, the cave is just a bit further up ahead." Momo announced. "Double-check all your weapons, if you're hungry or thirsty, now is your last chance, although I don't recommend eating or drinking anything now. Once you are sure you have everything, we will enter the caves."

The general atmosphere was rather dim, nobody daring to touch their rations as per Momo's advice. His sword was secured to his side, he had checked multiple times, and from the expressions his fellow party members were making they were assured as well.

This was the moment. The caves… The One-For-All…

"Uraraka, Shouto, Tsuyu…" Midoriya stood up and faced them. "Thank you for coming this far with me, thank you for following me on this selfish request, thank you… for being my friends."

"Hey, hey, you sound like you're about to die. We don't need any self-fulfilling prophecies." Uraraka cut in, her smile a weak attempt to lift the tense mood.

"Thank you, Uraraka, but don't worry. We're going to fight all the monsters we have to, and we're going to retrieve that sword! I have all of you by my side, so I know…! I know…! I know we can do this!"

* * *

"Huh, that's weird."

Shinsou glanced to the side, where Himiko was holding up his cloak against the light. "What is?"

"There's a hole here, but I'm sure I never stabbed you." The girl frowned, pointing at the chunk of fabric that was missing.

He took the garment, running his finger across the torn area.

* * *

 _A knife pierced through his cloak, pinning it to the tree he was standing in front of. In a surge of force, he tore his cloak away, the ripping sound of the fabric resonating in the empty forest._

 _Shinsou gritted his teeth, realizing he had underestimated his opponent. Another knife came flying at him, which he only managed to dodge by luckily slipping in the mud by accident. It lodged into the bark of wood behind him, right where his head had been just a second ago._

 _Scrambling back to his feet, he took cover behind a larger rock, hoping its shadow would hide him from the moonlight._

" _You're pretty fast on your feet." He snapped his fingers, sending the soundwaves elsewhere, hoping to confuse the girl._

 _There was no reply, only a sense of impending doom. He held his breath, listening to the swaying of the leaves. A drop of sweat trickled down the side of his face._

 _Where was she? The plan was just to lure out the first dragoon they encountered, but Dabi deemed the group they encountered earlier 'too weak'. He was pretty sure that this one was 'too strong'. His eyes darted from side to side, searching for any sign of her._

 _Deciding that the coast was clear, he sped further into the forest. There was no sound other than his own footsteps, alarming him._

 _It's been a while since his heart hammered in his ribcage, cold sweat gluing stray strands of hair to his forehead uncomfortably. It's been a while since he felt genuine fear._

 _With uncertainty, he leapt behind another rock, peering over it, straining his ears and eyes, searching for any trace of his pursuer._

 _He knew he was alone, and that he couldn't count on Dabi to get him out of this._

 _Taking a shaky breath, he considered moving on, but something grazed his cheek before he could._

 _The knife dug into the rock, sending cracks through it. It was followed up by him hitting the ground in a spur of pain, his arms being twisted uncomfortably and something cold pressing against his jugular._

" _H-How?" He stammered, squinting to look at his assailant, the black-haired dragoon girl._

" _Your voice can't fool my nose." She replied calmly, but there was a simmering anger in her words._

 _Her nose? What the fuck?! Shinsou tried to push her off himself, but his body screamed in pain in response._

" _Don't try anything funny if you value your life." She went on, grimacing. "Just tell me who did this to you."_

 _He steeled himself. "Why should I?"_

" _Who's controlling you?!" She asked furiously, the anger breaking free. "Tell me, and I can help you!"_

 _Shinsou blinked in confusion. What was she talking about? "I'm not being controlled. I'm doing this of my own free will!" He retorted, struggling against her iron hold on him._

" _Don't bullshit me! I'd recognize that foul stench anywhere!" She furrowed her brows further. "I know you don't want this. If you overcome it, I can help you!"_

 _He didn't know what she was talking about, but suddenly, his resolve seemed to crumble a bit. There was an underlying earnest in her words that caught him off-guard. It was almost ironic, wasn't he trying to catch her off-guard all this time?_

" _ **There's no place here for somebody like you."**_

 _Shinsou inhaled sharply. That's right. She was catching him off-guard. She was tricking him. It was just another trick. Just another way to use him._

 _He could also play that game. "Can you really help me?" He asked, meeting her eyes._

" _Yes!" She responded fervently, eyes widening a fraction of a second later when she realized she triggered a trap spell. "What the-"_

 _He let out a relieved sigh when her body went rigid. His heartbeat was still racing, but it was okay now. She fell for it._

 _Hesitantly, he pushed her off himself, pointedly avoiding her empty gaze. A slow applause came from a bit further behind him._

" _Well done." Dabi drawled. "Now, let's proceed as planned."_

 _The black-haired man picked the girl up like a sack of potatoes, slinging her over his shoulder. "What are you dawdling for? We still have a long evening in front of us."_

 _Shinsou pulled his lips into a sour line. "Were you here the entire time?"_

" _Long enough to see you get your ass handed to you. You're lucky she decided to start talking instead of straight-up killing you." The older man grinned. "You're no use to us if you're dead. Even your corpse is worthless to Shigaraki."_

" _How reassuring." Shinsou muttered, following the other mage through the forest, to their destination._

 _This was going to be a long evening._

* * *

Momo staggered, her hand grazing the cave walls in search of support.

"Are you feeling alright?" Bakugou asked her in a low voice.

The pain in her head pulsed and expanded irregularly. She clutched her head, trying to make it go away, but much to her own ever-growing despair, there was nothing she could do.

"Ponytail!" He held her shoulders, his fingers digging into her skin as she sunk to her knees. "Dammit! Answer me!"

It was like somebody was forcing a rod into her brain, twisting it maniacally on the way down. It was invading her thoughts, her actions, her mind. Everything was hazy, blurred, light, dark, black. She couldn't even hear Bakugou's voice anymore, despite knowing he was saying something. She choked out a cry of pain as another surge of agony came over her, and suddenly, it stopped.

She gasped, she could think clearly again.

"Momo?"

That's right, she remembered now, she had a mission. A task that was more important than anything else. She had to…

"Momo, what the fuck's going on?!" The hand on her shoulder tightened, but she didn't pay attention to that. Her eyes were trained on a mop of green hair further up ahead.

Roughly shoving him off, she broke into a sprint, twirling a dagger between her fingers, preparing to dig the blade into the boy's neck, but just before she reached her target, she was painfully wrestled to the ground.

"God-fucking-dammit! One time! Can your predictions just be off _one_ fucking time?!" Bakugou growled as he held her down.

She hissed at him, twisting her arm in order to gut him with the hilt of dagger. He grunted, loosening his grip on her just enough for her to escape his clutches.

* * *

"Watch out!"

Izuku's blood froze when he met Momo's blank eyes, and he was so sure he was going to die. Almost giving into his inevitable fate, he shut his eyes, bringing up his arms in a last attempt to defend himself.

He felt himself hit the ground, followed by the screeching sound of two blades clashing.

"Midoriya!"

"Deku!" Somebody started shaking his shoulders violently. "Deku! Tsuyu saved you, get up!"

Cracking an eye open, he found that he really was still alive. "Shouto's holding her off, but we need to help him!" Uraraka went on. "You need to get up!"

His eyes widened, darting towards the side, where he could make out Shouto's severely confused expression as he defended himself against Momo.

"What's going on?!" He asked frantically, directing the question towards Bakugou, who was currently standing in front of them, almost… _protectively_?

"It seems you've run out of luck." The dragoon answered coldly. "It's time to face the monsters in this cave."

"But that's Momo! Isn't she your friend?!"

Bakugou glanced over his shoulder, red eyes simmering with a myriad of emotions. "No, not right now. If you don't want to die, I suggest you get your ass moving."

* * *

Eijirou stared at the broken shards of the plate that just fell down. "Huh, how'd that happen?"

"Did something happen?" Lady Mitsuki asked, poking her head through the entryway.

"Ah, don't worry about it, I must've dropped it by accident. I'll clean up the mess in a bit." He smiled back at her.

* * *

Toshinori felt it in the pit of his stomach. Something bad, terrible, horrible was happening. His fingers found the small crystal in his pocket, and he made sure to inconspicuously check on it. Maybe young Midoriya had run into trouble?

He fished the pendant out and held it on the palm of his hand.

 _What the...?_ He hastily hid the pendant again, the image of the pitch-black crystal burned into his mind.

* * *

Ochako gritted her teeth, there was no time for her to use her magic. Left with no other choice, she blocked the attack to her best abilities, dropping her staff in attempt to feint an attack from the right, using the opportunity to slip past Momo's left.

If only she could disarm her…! Her arm shot towards the other girl's wrist, prepared to twist Momo's arm behind her back. Glancing upwards one more time, she found herself looking straight into her opponent's black, soulless eyes.

 _Oh no._

Momo pushed her to the ground, but luckily Ochako managed to pull her knees close in time, allowing her to kick the girl in the abdomen up against the force of gravity. Momo's face twitched slightly, but her iron grip never faltered.

With a battle cry, Ochako kneed her opponent in the side, getting some breathing space out of it. In this small window of opportunity, she pushed her muscles to the limit, clawing Momo's face with her palm and sending magic through it.

The other girl was fast enough to evade the magic, but it also meant letting go of Ochako in the process.

Just a moment later, a chill ran down her back as she felt the phantom touch of somebody choking her. She ducked, and while she avoided Momo's arms, she took a kick to her back instead.

"Uraraka!" A hand gripped her arm roughly, pulling her out of the way before Momo's next attack could land. Shouto pushed himself in front of her, letting Momo meet a wall of ice instead.

"Shouto!" Ochako gasped, her eyes immediately falling to the deep gash running down his arm. "You're bleeding!"

"We have more important things to worry about right now!" He snapped in response.

While they had been talking, Bakugou had managed to lock Momo into fighting him. In a messy flurry of attacks and dodges, he managed to hold her at bay long enough for Tsuyu tackle the dragoon girl from behind.

Bakugou's expression suddenly morphed into panic, and he jumped back, bringing his hands to his face. "Close your eyes! NOW!"

Just a split-second later, the cave was filled with blinding, white light.

* * *

Shouto cursed under his breath, his eyes were stinging, and he couldn't see anything. "Midoriya!" He called out, hoping to get a response of any kind. There was a thick mist in the air, limiting most of his senses.

He blinked rapidly, trying to get his eyes to work again. Dammit, where was Midoriya? Uraraka was still next to him, he was sure of that much, but Momo's target was Midoriya.

"Midoriya! Tsuyu!""

"Deku!"

He sucked in a breath. There was no reply.

A cough sounded from further across the cave.

"Tsuyu!" Shouto called out, looking for their teammate. He was sure that that had been Tsuyu, but wasn't she holding on to Momo in that moment…?

"I'm alright." Tsuyu replied groggily. "But I lost her…"

"Where did she go? And what was that?" Uraraka asked, wearily keeping an eye on her surroundings.

"A flash grenade, I presume." He answered. "They're perfect for dark, enclosed environments."

"Okay, we need to find her as quickly as possible! And make sure to watch out for flash grenades, too." The mage concluded.

"There's only one way forward. Everyone, be careful."

* * *

"What are you doing?!" Izuku rasped out, trying to breathe through the tight grip the dragoon had on his collar.

"Saving your sorry ass." Bakugou answered while dragging him along. "I don't know what Lord Yagi sees in worthless trash like you, but I'm going to trust him on this one."

"What's that supposed to mean? And what about Momo?!"

"We're going to have to leave her to your friends. Start praying that they'll survive."

"Don't say that! I need to help them!" Izuku struggled against his hold. "Let go of me!"

" _You_ want to help them?" Bakugou sneered. "You and what power? That short sword may be strong, but it won't last against its own creator."

Izuku gulped, angling his head enough to meet Bakugou's angry gaze. He didn't have an answer.

"I thought so. Right now, I'm the only one who can give you the power you need, so you better shut the fuck up and play nice."

"Wait, you don't mean-!" Izuku met the ground, not for the first time that day, when Bakugou practically dropped him on it.

"This is the One For All." The dragoon announced, gesturing to something in front of them.

Izuku lifted his head, staring at the blade lodged into the ground. The low glow from the crystals surrounding them reflected off its surface, bringing out it's golden sheen. For something so ethereal, it was too close to touch.

"You… you're asking me to…" He anxiously looked between Bakugou and the blade. "I can't… not this…"

"Get your shit together and take the fucking sword! Lord Yagi chose you, so you better live up to those expectations!"

Izuku scrambled to his feet, tentatively reaching towards the sword. The power to save his friends… That was all he wanted right now! And if it was right in front of him…!

He shut his eyes tightly and wrapped his fingers around the hilt.

* * *

 **AN: 80K in and we finally get to the sword! How will our fair heroes venture from here on?**

 **Leave your thoughts in a review~**


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